New Feelings
by ScarlettSlaysSquids
Summary: Carmen was best friends with Mitch and Jerome, but then she moved away. What happens when she meets up with them later in life? Will this tomboy feel, well, differently about the boys? Will I ever write a good summary? Rated T to be safe.
1. Prologue Type Thingy

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm Scarlett, and this is my first fanfic! That doesn't mean I'm going to say things like go easy on me, I honestly need the criticism. Feel free to review( I want to know if people actually like my story) and thanks for at least stopping by!**

"I'll make sure to do some vlogs. This is Golden Flame signing out." I breathed a sigh of relief. I didn't have to do anything but vlogs for a week. I loved making videos, but I really needed a break. Besides, I only have 1,000 subs, with about 300 that actually watched my content. I decided to check and see if anyone uploaded anything good.  
I laughed my head off as Jerome chased Mitch with an axe. "Betty's comin' for ya, biggums!" he yelled. I paused the video so I could catch my breath. I had to do this quite often when I watched YouTube, because I laughed very easily. I hit play again and watched as Mitch proceeded to one-shot Jerome with his bow.  
"The ultimate Katniss!" he exclaimed. I smiled. His voice was so adorable when he yelled. I would know, of course, because he used to be my best friend.  
Jerome and I grew up on the same street in New Jersey. I was only three days older than him, so we usually hung out. We went to school together and always had the same classes. Then, in 4th grade, a new boy moved to town. His name was Mitch. We met him when we all had to celebrate our birthday together.  
We were best friends until 9th grade, when I had to move to Albany. We tried to keep in touch, but it didn't work out. I haven't seen them face to face for three years. I heard they'd started a YouTube channel, so I watched them every day. I even learned how to play Minecraft so I would be good enough if I ever got to see them again.  
This was possible, of course, because my family was taking me on a trip to Ocean City before I left to go to college. Our hometown was just fifteen minutes away from there. I figured I'd find a moment to slip away and visit Jerome, since Mitch had since moved to Montreal. I was just hoping he'd recognize me. Talk about awkward if he didn't...  
The doorbell rang and I ran downstairs to answer it. "Carmella Paige, why didn't you tell me you were going to Ocean City? WITHOUT ME?" Demanded my best friend Annette. I knew she was joking so I playfully punched her in the arm.  
"I just wanted all of the tan boys to myself." I said. She laughed because we both knew I wasn't a flirt. I have had one boyfriend, and he lasted about 48 hours. It's probably because I hang around boys so much. I'm just not all weird around them.  
"Well, I probably won't see you until college, so goodbye." She said sadly. I rolled my eyes.  
"I'll see you in a week, Annette." I reminded.  
"It seems so long!" She fake sobbed.  
I hugged her. "Goodbye now, I'll text you," I said. She waved and left.  
I went to my bathroom to brush my hair. It's brown beach waves fell past my shoulders. I looked a lot different then how I did in 9th grade. I looked more mature. Maybe Jerome wouldn't know who I was.  
I flopped down on my bed. I was so excited for going to the ocean. I used to go all the time with Mitch and Jerome. My older brother would drive us and try to pick up girls while we hung out. Looking back, I realized I had been a lot more confident then with my body. I'm talking bikini confident. It was a whole new world when you hung out with girls, because they made you notice every flaw you had. I pondered this the whole four hour car ride as I prepared to finally see Jerome.

I stretched my legs as I finally got out of the car. My parents' car was already parked in the rental house's garage, so I figured they were already here. I happily ran into the house, only to find a note that said:

Carmen,  
Your father and I went out to church (It's walking distance, isn't that cool?)We're going out for dinner, so entertain yourself until we get back!  
XOXO  
Mom

I smiled. This was the perfect time to visit Jerome. I scribbled a note back to her telling her where I'd be. After carting my luggage into my room, I set off for his house.

I drove past my house and all the way to his. I was positive he still lived there because his vlogs were from his room from when I lived here. Nervously, I stepped out of the car and up the front steps to the red door I had been through many times. I heard the doorbell echo. I realized I was holding my breath and let go right as Jerome's mother answered.  
"Who is this- Carmen, is that you?" She asked. I nodded. "You probably want to see Jerome, don't you?"  
"Yes, please,"I said.  
"You know where his room is, just be sure to knock! He might be recording." I hopped off to his room. Good thing his mom remembered me. He might, too.

**A/N: Also, let me know about anything you want to see later in the story. I'll try to update every day, but school starts soon so I don't know. Any tips on my writing are appreciated! **


	2. Old Friends

**A/N: Wow someone actually read my story! I am honestly surprised! Thank you all so much. This means a lot to me. Also, my iPod is being dumb and won't indent between paragraphs, so I'll just put spaces between paragraphs. Long chapter for you guys today. I think it's long anyways.**

I knocked on the door lightly. "Go away, Mom, I'm about to start recording!" Jerome said.

"It's not your mom," I said.

I heard footsteps as he shuffled to the door. He opened it and stared at me. "Carmen? Are you actually here right now?"

"Yeah, I was visiting Ocean City and decided-" I was cut off by Jerome giving me a bear hug.

"I haven't seen you in forever!" He said.

"You're suffocating me." I informed him through gasps. He let go and I tried to catch my breath.

"Sorry about that. Come on in!" He said. I walked into his room. It looked the same as last time, except he had recording equipment.

I heard a whistle come from his computer. "Who's the babe?" Said a voice. I was positive I had heard it before, maybe in a video with Jerome. I looked at the face on the Skype call.

"Excuse me?" I said with a death glare. I hated being called names like that.

"This is my friend, Carmen." Jerome told the guy.

"Carmen?" Said a voice that belonged to no one else but TheBajanCanadian.

"Hey Mitch. How are you?" I said.

"Hey, does everyone know this chic but me?" Said the other guy.

"This chic has a name, buddy." I said.

"Whoa, feisty. My name's Adam, aka SkyDoesMinecraft. I have 5 million subscribers." He said with pride.

"Oops, didn't know I was in the presence of royalty." I teased.

"All hail Adam!" said Mitch. I giggled a bit. "So why are you in Jerome's room?" I didn't like how he phrased that question.

"I'm visiting Ocean City, and I wanted to visit my best friend considering I haven't seen you guys in four years. Is that a crime?" I replied.

"How long are you staying?" Asked Jerome.

"Until next Friday, then I'm off to college! Whoopee."

"Where are you going to?" Interrupted Adam.

"California State University. Why?"

Adam's jaw dropped. "No way!" said Mitch.

"You have to be joking!" Jerome said.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"That's where we are going!" said Adam.

"You have to be kidding. How on earth did this happen?"

Mitch laughed. "Remember when I said that we should all go to college together? Well, Jerome and I honored that commitment. And apparently, so did you."

My life was so much better now. Not only was Annette going to college with me, my best friends were too! I pinched myself to make sure my life wasn't a fairy tale.

"Hey, Carmen, wanna record with us?" This time, my jaw dropped. I was going to record? With them?

"She can use my laptop, here I'll show you the recording equipment." Jerome ushered me over to his sofa. "Here's an extra headset."

"I don't know about this." I said when I joined the Skype call. I didn't mind messing up or being stupid in front of them, but when we were recording? 5 million people could see that!

"C'mon Carmella, don't be a baby." teased Mitch.

"If I was in Montreal I'd smack you." I threatened. "Don't. Call me. Carmella."

He looked genuinely afraid so I smiled to let him know I was joking. "Alright, are we joining the Fridge?" I said.

"I may or may not have broken the servers," said Mitch sheepishly. I didn't even bother asking how, he would just find a way.

"To the Hive then!" Said Adam.

"I'm gonna win the Hunger Deans!" cried Jerome.

I managed to make it to death match, although Mitch and Jerome double-teamed and killed me. "You could have let me win," I pouted.

Adam laughed. "At least they let you survive until death match." He had died as a sacrifice for death match.  
I watched as Jerome got beaten by Mitch. "Dat circle strats dough!" Mitch cheered. I rolled my eyes.

"You know, you act just like you did four years ago."

"You say that like it's a bad thing!" said Jerome. I smiled. I had always liked hanging out with them because they made me feel more mature. "Anyways, that was the Hunger Games with Mitch, Adam, Carmen, and me! Make sure to check out everybody in the description!"

"And we're done!" said Adam. I breathed a sigh of relief. I hadn't done anything too stupid. Adam refused to say my name for no reason, though.

"Why don't you like it my name?" I asked.

"Because It has the word g-gold in it." He stuttered. I remembered him not liking gold. Oops.

"Just call me Flame then. It's not that big of a deal." He smiled. "I really have to get back to my vacation house, but thanks for recording with me. I'll see you guys later!" I said. I quickly emailed the video to my laptop and left the house.

**A/N: Sky fans, please no yelling at me for making Adam a bit of a jerk at first, the characters can't all be perfect! Also, I'm so so sorry this is going to be one of those stories where they "just happen to" go to college together. I had to keep the story rolling somehow, and the relationship development wouldn't happen if they were 1000 miles away from each other. They would be just where they started. I hope the childhood agreement sorta fixes that. Sorry!**


	3. New Fame

**A/N: 100 views? This has been up for 2 days! Thank you so much and remember to review! **

**Warning! This chapter has minor cursing from angry fans.**

"I'm back!" I called out as I entered the house. My mother hurried out of the kitchen. Her red curly hair was in a ponytail like it always was when she cooked. She wore her favorite apron, which was one that I had made her when I was younger.

"Carmen, your home!" She said as she embraced me. Though I still lived with my parents, I hadn't seen them in a while because they went on business trips a lot. "We're having meatloaf for dinner."

My mom was actually a good cook, and I loved her meatloaf. The smell of fresh baked brownies wafted through the air, so she must have baked too. I marveled at her ability to make delicious food in such a short time. When left to care for myself, I practically lived on toast, grilled cheese, and cereal. Not all together, of course.

"Mom, weren't you and Dad going out to dinner?" I asked her.

"Well, what were you supposed to eat? Besides, we can eat the leftovers for lunch." We both laughed. I never left leftovers.  
"How was Jerome?"

"Great!" I said. "He was in a Skype call with Mitch, so I talked to him too. They are practically the same as they were four years ago. Oh, and I met their friend Adam."

"I'm glad you had a good time. Now, about the schedule for the week, you can do whatever you want until Wednesday. We are all going to the boardwalk together, and then you're free until we leave." My heart sank a bit. All we were doing together was the boardwalk? I barely got to see them.

"Sounds great." I lied. We had walked to the table and sat down by now, so I took a bite of meatloaf. Heavenly. Note to self: Learn how to cook like Mom.

After dinner I went up to my room. I posted the video on YouTube. Mitch and Jerome had already posted, so I watched their version first. It felt weird to hear my own voice talking to them. I never watched my own videos. I had just gotten to the part where they were about to kill Adam when my phone buzzed.

"Hello?" I said tiredly. I had just noticed that the clock said 11:23pm.

"Ohmygoshyoudidavideowithfamousyoutubersanddidn'tt ellme?" (Translation: Oh my gosh you did a video with famous Youtubers and didn't tell me?) Asked Annette all at once.

"Yeah, Mitch and Jerome-"

"I know, used to be your best friends, yada yada ya. You've talked about them a bazzillion times."

"Oh." I said. "Is that all you wanted to tell me? It's almost midnight, Annette."

"No! I wanted you to know something... Ugh I can't say it. Check the comments on Adam's channel."

"Is this entirely necessary?" I moaned as I searched for the video. I gasped as I saw the top comment.

"I'll call you later bye!" She said quickly and hung up on me.

It read: 'Carmen sucks. She isn't even funny. If you do any more videos with her I'll unsubscribe. Like if you agree.' It had 250 likes. 250 people hated me. A tear slid down my cheek. The worst part? I didn't see anyone who said they liked me.

I read off other comments in my head. 'She's just some obsessed fan girl. Why does she get special treatment?'  
'The first video I disliked, Carmen is some dumb b**ch.'  
'Go to hell Carmen!'  
'I'm unsubbing, I don't like the new girl.'

The words spun around in my head. I was never one to cry, but this time I couldn't stop myself. At the worst timing possible, my Skype announced a call. I wiped my face with my sleeve and answered the call.

"Hey Carmen, congr- what's wrong?" asked Mitch.

I looked at the screen. He looked really concerned. "Oh, it's nothing, it's a silly little thing." I said, not really believing myself.

"Tell me right now." he demanded.

I sighed. "You know the video we did today? Well a bunch of people are calling me names on Sky's channel. See? It's silly."

"You never cry. What did they call you that was so bad?"

"It's nothing-" I tried to tell him, but he was already searching for the channel.

His eyes widened. "Carmen," he whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"It's fine!" I lied and put on a fake smile. "See? I'm happy! Yay."

"I'll be right back," he told me and hung up.

I exited out of the Skype call. The comments were right in front if me again. I took one look at the 250 thumbs up and burst into tears.

I must have cried for at least 20 minutes. I didn't even hear the balcony doors open.

"Need a shoulder to cry on?" asked a voice.

I turned towards the voice. "Mitch?" He walked over and sat down on my bed. "How did you-"

He shushed me. "Relax," he told me. I hugged him and he put an arm around my back.

After a few minutes I could finally speak. "Weren't you in Montreal?"

He smiled. "I was in a hotel room when you saw me talking to Jerome. I was on my way to visit him. Jerome is asleep right now but I snuck out to come here."

We were silent for another minute.  
"Why did you call me in the first place?"

"I wanted to congratulate you on 100,000 subscribers. Surprise." He said weakly.

"That's nice," I said. It took my brain a minute to process the information. I bolted upright. "Did you say 100,000 subscribers? Me?"

He chuckled. "Not everyone hated you. Here, have a celebratory muffin." He held out a blueberry muffin. "It's from Carol's."

I looked up into his eyes. "You remembered."

"How could I forget your favorite breakfast food?"

"Thanks." I muttered as I drifted off to sleep in his arms.

**A/N: Aw so cute! I sense some romance brewing! This, however, does NOT guarantee she will end up with Mitch. At least it is now confirmed that Carmen does, in fact, have a feminine side and she isn't all tough. I don't even know if its possible to get 99,000 subs in 5 hours, but I say it is. Ha! Take that logic!**


	4. Old Hideouts

**A/N: I'm sorry if this chapter seems boring, I'm doing my best to write a bit more before I make Carmen go off to college. Also, I need some OCs to be college students. Just a warning, I chose who is good/evil and who dates who, so don't yell at me if your character is evil or not dating who you want. We can't all be perfect. ;)**

I woke up and stepped onto a body. Why was there a body on my floor? I stared down on the face of Mitch. He looked so peaceful sleeping. I couldn't allow that when I had gotten up at 8am!

I tiptoed to the bathroom connected to my room and filled a cup up with water. I grinned and walked back until I was standing over him. "Wake up sleepyhead!" I said as I poured water onto his face. He opened his eyes and stared at me.

"Why are you in my room?" He asked me.

"You are in my room, duh." I told him.

"Crap, I must have fallen asleep! Jerome is gonna kill me!"

I laughed. "Relax, it's only 8 o'clock. He'll still be sleeping. You have plenty of time to drive back."

"Good." he said. "By the way, Jerome and I were going to go to the beach today, want to come?"

"Sure!" I said excitedly. I hadn't been to the beach with them in a while. "What time do you want to meet up?"

"We all know he sleeps in, so I'll call you when we are ready." I nodded. "By the way, I have a surprise for you. Close your eyes."

"What is it?" I asked curiously.

"This!" Mitch yelled as I felt the icy water pour over me.

I glared at him. "I'm gonna kill you!" I yelled back and chased him to the balcony. He gracefully swung himself over the side and to the pavement below. "Curse your agility!" He laughed and drove away.

Since I was already wet I decided to take a shower. I always used the shower to think things through. I decided to revisit last night. I was crying and Mitch came to comfort me. He told me I got 100,000 subs. I got a blueberry muffin and fell asleep in his arms... awkward. Wait, didn't I need to do a vlog for 100,000 subscribers? Oops.

*************Time skip******************

"Hey there embers it's Golden Flame! Thank you so, so, so much for 100,000 subs! It was awesome to hear that when I was on vacation. I'll have a vlog coming out soon when I move into college. Speaking of college, guess who I found out is coming with me? Mitch, Adam, and Jerome! Hopefully I'll do more videos with them soon. Thanks again, and I'll see you later-" I watched a car pull up. "Looks like someone wants to be in my video."

Mitch waved as he and Jerome got out of the car. "Hey dood!"

"Guys, I'm filming my 100,000 subscribers vlog, so say hi!"

Mitch smiled and slurped for the camera. Jerome said hi and took the camera from me.

"This girl right here is amazing. If you haven't, subscribe to her right now!"

I took back my camera. "Well we are off to the beach, hopefully I'll get some good footage for you guys! Bye embers!"

I shut off the camera. "Was that really needed?"

"Yes." He replied. "Now get in my van, little girl."

I laughed and sat in the backseat. "I'm older than you."

"Let's just get going." Mitch interrupted. Jerome started the car and we drove off.

**********Another Time skip***********

I lay my blanket down in between Mitch and Jerome, just like when we were kids. I walked over to the ocean and taped it for a few moments. I planned to make a montage of clips for my channel. The water was packed with people. I got an idea.

"Hey guys, why don't we go to Shell Cove?" I asked them.

Jerome smiled. "Still as devious as always. Let's go."

Shell Cove was a place where we used to picnic when we were younger. It was about a quarter mile from the beach. No one ever went there, probably because it wasn't entirely legal. But hey, anything's legal when the cops aren't around!

The walk was long, but we had plenty to talk about. I learned all about Mitch and Jerome's YouTube channels, friends, and families. I told them a lot about Annette and what I did after I moved.

Finally, we arrived at the cove. It was a crescent of beach that led to the ocean. It was surrounded by trees on three sides, the fourth showed the beautiful open water. I set down our picnic basket and blanket. "Let's swim!" I called out.

I went up onto a rock by the edge of the water and cannonballed in. **(because cannonballed is totally a word) **I bobbed back up to the surface. "You guys coming?" I felt water splashing onto my back and mini waves hit my face. "Already here." said Jerome.

"CANNONBALL!" Mitch yelled as he hit the water. I looked out and saw some nice waves coming in.

"Let's wave jump now," I said. They both looked where I was and nodded. "You know the rules?"

"First one to wipe out has to pay for lemonade. Duh," said Mitch.

"Ready?" asked Jerome.

"Set?"

"Go!" I called as the first wave hit us. I jumped over five more before we got a little break. The next round hit us and I stumbled a bit.

"You giving up already? Where's the spirit you used to have?"

I turned towards Mitch and glared. "You're on."

I hopped over ten more waves before I noticed it. "Guys... That wave looks really big."

"Are you chicken?" taunted Jerome.

My eyes narrowed to slits. I turned to face the waves. "I'm gonna win!" I yelled right before I hit the water and blacked out.


	5. New Personalities

**A/N: Sort of short today sorry. School just started, so I may not be able to update everyday. Also, thank you to anyone who gave me OCs! It will probably take longer to write if I don't write with my own characters, so be warned! **

My eyes fluttered open and I spit out lots of water. Mitch and Jerome leaned over me. "Are you okay?" asked Jerome.

I gagged a bit. "I'll be tasting salt for weeks."

Mitch laughed as I attempted to sit up. "You know, you owe us each a lemonade."

I ignored him as I got a head rush. "So what happened to me?"

"Remember the big wave? Well you hit it head first and it knocked you out. We swam you in and laid you here. Jerome woke you up by smacking you."

I turned to him. "You can't hit a girl!"

He smiled. "Carmen, all my life I've never really considered you a girl. "

"Is that a complement or an insult?"

He shrugged. "Neither."

"Whether I like it or not, I am, in fact, a girl. Anyways, what time is it?" I took a small sip of water. It tasted like salt. I swished it around in my mouth.

"5 o'clock."

I spit out the water. "What? I have to be home for dinner! My mom will kill me!"

"Calm down," Mitch told me. "We already called and asked permission to take you out for dinner. She said yes as long as you're home by 11."

I sighed. "Thanks." I slowly got up, walked over to my towel, and wrapped it around me. Mitch began to pack our picnic while Jerome moved over next to me.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Jerome asked. He put a hand on my shoulder. "You're shaking."

I didn't realize that. "I'm fine." I assured him. That was when the world got hazy.

"Carmen," said a voice in the distance. "Carmen?"

I blinked rapidly. Jerome was looking at me. "What?"

"You spaced out for a minute. You know what, let's take you back to your place. If you feel up to it, we will stay."

I nodded slowly. My head hurt. "Do you have any Advil? I have a migraine."

Mitch walked over. "I have all of the stuff packed. Let's go."

I was sick for the rest of vacation. I barley managed to make a few short videos for my subscribers. Mitch and Jerome came over every day with various items to make me feel better. Soon enough, it was time to go home. I had already packed up most of my stuff for college, so I had a day to relax. My strength was returning slowly, so I decided to go take a jog down the beach before leaving.

Mitch and Jerome had decided to travel to my house with me. Annette had my car right now, so I left my parents' car at the house and rode with them.

Nothing exciting happened on the way to my house in Kinderhook. We had moved there after my family decided that city life wasn't for them. Fun fact: Martin Van Buren was born in Kinderhook.

When we got out of the car, Mitch stopped me. "Jerome and I bought you a gift before we left." He handed me a beautiful shell necklace. I gasped.

"Thank you!" I said as I ran into his arms and hugged him.

"I payed for most of that. Where's my hug?"

I giggled. "Here you go." I said as I embraced him too.

Wait, was I actually going to wear a necklace? And did I giggle? Why am I being so girly all the sudden?  
It was like I had turned to the opposite of my personality...

**Cliffhanger fail**. **Anyways, I'm doing a test. If you read this, write "Scarlett is the best author!" In the reviews. Thanks for reading!**


	6. Old Admierers

**A/N: Over 500 total views to this story... What? Thank you guys so much for reading my fangirl dreams. Also, the OCs I received shall appear in this chapter. Thanks again!**

After a really long car ride to California, I stepped onto campus. Students bustled around me as they rushed to find their dorms. I checked my information packet, the apartment I was sharing with Annette was in Building 2. "C'mon slowpoke!" I called to her as she tried to get her luggage out. I rolled my eyes as she struggled with all her bags. "Take the stuff you need for today, we can get the rest later."

She finally gave up and walked over to me with just her purse. "So where is this?"

I pointed to the building. "Right over there, on the outskirts of campus."

We walked in that direction until we reached the entrance. The lobby had a few chairs and a desk. I directed my attention towards the lady sitting there. "Could you help me find my apartment?"

She smiled. "What is your name, sweetie?"

"Carmella Paige,"

She flipped through a book. "Oh here it is. Apartment 2B. Just take the elevator to the 2nd floor and look for the B!"

"Thanks for your help!" I said as we walked onto the elevator. The doors closed and we were pulled upward. "She seemed nice," I commented.

"Yeah," said Annette. "So tell me a bit more about these Mitch and Jerome people. Are they hot?"

I looked at her in shock. "I think of them as brothers, you know."

She shrugged. "I think my brother could be considered hot."

The doors opened and we stepped out. "You can judge that for yourself." The key turned and we walked into our apartment.

My mom had ordered for a guy to move our furniture in a week before. My clean freak habits took over and I rushed to move the couch in place. Annette rolled her eyes and dragged me to the bedroom corridor. There were four bedrooms that were identical. I picked one and set my stuff down. "Okay, can we please organize the furniture before I go crazy?"

A couple hours later we were all unpacked and semi-organized. I was just going to set up my gaming station when I heard a knock at the door.

The door opened to reveal two girls our age standing before me. One had brown hair, pale skin, and chocolate eyes I would die for. She wore a maroon sweatshirt, black yoga pants and white sneakers. The other girl had long brown hair that was covered by a white beanie, blue eyes with glasses, and she wore a white polo, black jeans, and black converses. "Hi!" Said the one with sneakers.

"Hello." I replied. "How can I help you?"

The one with glasses stuck out her hand. "My name is Taylor, and that's Megan. Our apartment was double-booked and our roommates kicked us out. The lady at the desk told us to ask you girls if you would share since there was only two of you. Do you have any room?"

I smiled. "As long as you help pay the rent it's fine! Come on in, we're still trying to set up. "

I led them past the kitchen and to the bedrooms. "Annette!" I called out as they brought their stuff to their rooms. "These girls were kicked out of their apartment. They can stay here if they pay rent, right?"

Her face lit up. "Maybe we can go shopping together!"

I frowned. "I'd go shopping with you!"

She put a hand on my forehead. "Are you sick? You hate shopping."

"No I don't." I insisted. She looked at me funny and went to make her bed.

I left the apartment to go park the car in its assigned spot. As the elevator doors opened, a cute boy came out. I missed the step and tripped, falling right into his arms.

"Hello there," he said.

"Hi," I blushed.

"You need to be more careful, someone could get hurt." he said playfully. I turned a deeper shade of red. He set me back on my feet.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" I asked him. "I feel like I saw someone like you at the beach in Ocean City."

He smiled. "I was just there."

I gasped. "You were the guy staring at me, weren't you?"

"How was only one guy staring at a girl as beautiful as you?"

My cheeks were officially crimson. Was he flirting with me? "My name's Carmen." I stuck out my hand for a handshake. He took a sharpie out of his pocket and started writing on it.

"Name's Josh. Call me sometime." He capped the pen and walked to his apartment.

I looked at the numbers. 572-4631. He gave me his number! I squealed on the inside.

"What was that?"

I turned around to be face-to-face with Mitch. "What?"

He looked at me sternly. "That boy. Who was holding you in his arms and then gave you his number."

I shrugged. "I fell. No big deal."

"Yes big deal!" He exploded. "Listen, Carmen, I feel like a big brother to you. Of course I'm gonna be concerned if you start flirting with random college guys. These aren't high school boys, they could really hurt you."

"I'm not 9 anymore, I don't need you to watch over me. I can handle my own love life, thank you very much. If I want to date Josh I will no matter what you say!" I yelled and stomped back to my apartment. I didn't notice Mitch's sad expression as he turned and went into his own apartment.

** I should probably mention that Carmen tends to be a bit dramatic. And thank you to anyone who said I was the best author XD Whenever I see a review, I immediately go write a lot of the story, so I got a lot done. Tell me in the reviews who you think Carmen should end up with. I have my plans, but if no one wants it that way I may change it. **


	7. New Boyfriend

**A/N: I know this chapter is a little boring. There isn't even a cliffhanger, I know. But, it has to be, because next chapter gets interesting! As in, soon I'll have an actual plot and character development interesting! I'm working on it. **

I sighed as I closed the door. I really messed up. I was just tired of Mitch trying to run my life like he used to. I know how he felt, I also thought of him as a big brother. He was my protector, but now I am old enough to fend for myself. I slid to the floor as I noticed that my head was killing me.

I stayed like that for a while. I didn't even know Megan was there until she tapped me on the shoulder. "Are you okay?"

I sighed. "I'm fine, I'm just having boy trouble."

She looked at me with concern. "I know we just met but can I help?"  
I nodded.

"I've been best friends with the two boys in apartment C forever. One of them is like my big brother, he didn't like it when I was flirting with a guy." She raised her eyebrows. "What?"

"Oh, you just don't seem like the flirting type, that's all."

I thought about that. "Honestly, I'm not."

She smiled. "You must really like this guy then."

Did I? I didn't really know. "I don't know, maybe. Thanks for the help."

"Anytime."

I got up and grabbed the Advil so I could cure my headache. I needed to go apologize to Mitch.

I knocked on his door. Jerome answered. "Oh, hey Carmen! I bet you want to see Mitch. He's on the couch." I walked over to see Mitch sulking and watching TV. I say down next to him.

"I brought you some gummy bears." I said quietly. "Your favorite."

He glanced over at me. I held out the gummy bears and he cautiously took them. The only sound after that was the rustle of the bag as he opened them. Finally, I couldn't take it.

"I'm sorry!" I said. "I was stupid and I don't know why I did it. Forgive me, please!"

"You can date Josh." he muttered.

"Listen, I know I- wait, what?"

"Go ahead, I can't tell you who to date." He said louder.

I hugged him. "Thank you so much!" I lightly pecked his cheek.

"I just told you that you could date someone and now you're kissing me?" He laughed.

I walked into my film class a month later with Annette, Megan, and Taylor. Taylor and I were going to school for film, Annette to be a lawyer, and Megan to be a doctor. Annette and Megan were taking this class for fun. I glanced around the classroom, but stopped when I saw one face: Josh. I hurried over to the seat next to him and sat down.

"Hey beautiful." He said. I smiled.

"Hi Josh." I had texted him all last month, and we were pretty close now.

"By the way, I wanted to ask you. Will you be my girlfriend?"

I ignored the voice in my head that said 'this is too fast!' "Yes."

"Cool. Let's walk to the smoothie shack tonight."

"Sure."

"Oh, and wear a dress. You don't look as good in a sweatshirt and jeans."

My brain kicked into action. "Excuse me?"

He looked surprised. "Never mind, then." We didn't talk for the rest of the period.

I paced back and forth in my room. What was I supposed to wear? My instinct told me to wear a sweatshirt just to prove him wrong, but my girly side told me to do whatever made him happy. I eventually decided on a skirt with leggings. I had gotten these two weeks ago when Taylor took me and Annette shopping.

I threw on my boots and rushed to apply makeup. Taylor thought it made me look more mature and feminine. I shoved my breath mints into my purse and knocked on the apartment door.

"What?" groaned Mitch when he answered.

"I need advice for my date with Josh tonight."

"Are you wearing a skirt?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes. Now help me!"

He looked me in the eyes. "Be yourself. If he doesn't like you he's crazy."

I laughed. "You are so cheesy."

"It always works for me with the ladies,"

"What ladies?"

He raised his eyebrows. "You missed a lot in high school." He ushered me out the door. "If he does anything to hurt you he'll be hearing from me."

** Mitch, that may happen... Muah ha ha! I feel bad when I ruin Carmen's life. Anyways, post in the comments section your favorite character so far and why. And maybe, if I get three reviews by tonight, I'll post another chapter. **


	8. Old Relationships

**A/N: I'm so sorry I didn't upload last night, my internet was being slow! Here is the chapter that explains a lot. Yay for actually having plots! Also, OCs will be coming back next chapter. **

"Do you know how many calories that has? How on earth are you skinny?" Josh asked as I ordered the Strawberry Splash.

I glared. "You are being rude tonight." I pulled out my phone to play a game instead, but it only had 1% battery left. I sighed and put it away.

He looked at me. "Let's go back to my place."

I didn't answer. My stomach fluttered. I let him take my hand and lead me across campus and to the apartment. We sat down on the couch.

"Now, I want to get to know you even better. What are your interests?" He asked me.

"Oh, sports, YouTube, all that stuff."

"You're a girl gamer?"

"Are you being sexist?"

He didn't answer me. "I'm gonna get us some water."

I sat for five minutes waiting for him. I didn't understand why he seemed so mean tonight. Was I just feeling different? I heard a crash from the kitchen and went to investigate.

I tiptoed over to the corner and peered into the doorway. Josh had two glasses of water, but what was he pouring into the second one? I looked closer, and the package he was using said Carmen. "Josh? What are you doing?"

He quickly turned to look at me and cursed. "You weren't supposed to find out." He grabbed my arm and roughly dragged me to a closet. I fought against him but he was too strong. He shoved me in and closed the door behind us. "And now I have to do this..." He muttered before hitting me on the head with a book.

I awoke tied to a chair in that closet. My head was killing me and my wrists hurt from the rope. "Good, your awake," I turned to see my no-good backstabbing boyfriend(now ex-boyfriend) smiling at me.

"What is all this?" I said.

"Well let us start at the beginning. Do you know who I am?"

I scoffed. "Dumb question. You're Josh Mahoney, my ex-boyfriend."

He frowned. "Don't be like that, babe."

"Don't call me babe."

"Anyways, wrong answer. I am Josh Mahoney, the boy from your eighth grade class. Remember?"

I gasped. "You were him?" Josh was a complete player back then. Not to mention the boy who broke my heart.

"Yes. And ever since you moved, I have needed to have you as my own. I wanted Carmella Paige to be mine."

"It's Carmen, get it right." I growled.

"Do I need to use this duct tape?"  
I shook my head no. "Stop interrupting. Anyways, I saw you at the beach and knew I had to do something. So I went to my house and grabbed the potion I had made just for you. I slipped it into your water when no one was looking."

"But I spit it out!"

"That's why it only lasted a month. I was worried I made a faulty potion."

"What does it do exactly?"

He smiled. "I was smart enough to make a potion that would make you the exact opposite. You would go from sassy tomboy to innocent girly-girl. Plus, the opposite of you would like me."

"It doesn't work, I hate you right now."

He glared. "That's it." He put the strip of duct tape over my mouth. "Better. Anyways, I made sure I was going to the same college as you. Then I met you, we hit it off, and here we are now! Anyways, I'm gonna need you to take this potion." He took off the tape and held out a glass.

I looked at the water. "And what if I don't?"

He grinned. "Let's just say those two boys of yours will get... In an accident."

I gasped. I wouldn't let him hurt Mitch and Jerome. "And you promise not to lay a finger on them if I do?"

"Well, it all depends on how long you continue taking the potion."

I narrowed my eyes. "How long would you want?"

"Forever."

I would be his forever? I didn't love him. Besides, I wouldn't be able to live my life if I was drugged. If I took that water, I would basically die inside. But then my thoughts wandered to Mitch and Jerome. I wouldn't let then get hurt on my behalf. "Deal."

He smiled. "That was easy. You must really care for Mitch and Jerome. Now, I'm gonna untie you. Don't try anything." He undid my bonds and handed me the glass. I stared at it for a while, then slowly drank the mixture. "Good. Now I'll lock you in here so you can transform. Be back in 15, though you won't know it." He gave the perfect villain laugh and locked the door.

I waited until the footsteps were gone and opened my purse. I was going to call someone but my phone was dead. I silently cursed my past self as I took out a pen and paper.

_To anyone who reads this note:  
I have been drugged by Josh and therefore will not be acting like myself. Please forgive me for anything I do, and I love all of my family and friends. I don't know how long I'll be in this state, but please don't do anything rash to try and save me. I'll be fine._

_Carmella Paige_

I looked at the page. Did I write Carmella? Darn, it was affecting me sooner than I thought. I folded the note and tucked it away into my purse. My head started to spin like last time, and soon I couldn't move my legs. After five minutes I knew I was soon going to have no control over myself. I took a deep breath as I plunged into a state of hopelessness, the world turning black around me.

**And now our brave heroine (well, not really a hero yet) is drugged. Now, you may wonder how on earth I'm going to tell a story if she's in a coma-like state. Well, the POV from now on will be Mitch. And occasionally someone else, Ill let you know when that happens. I'm not going to switch POVs too much. In the reviews, tell me who you want to find the note (or no one) and whether they listen to her or not! Also, there's a poll on my profile that you should all take. I want to know if you all want the story to end like I do!**


	9. New Advice

**Ugh. My teachers decided to commit a crime called homework, so the updates may not be as fast. Reminder, the story will now have different POVs. Also, I haven't forgotten about your OCs, I have a plan. **

Mitch's POV

Carmen had been gone for a while. I had heard footsteps in the hallway about an hour ago, and then something fell. Why was she in his apartment? What were they doing? A horrid thought appeared in my head. I quickly pushed it aside. I knew Carmen wasn't that stupid.

I really wanted to march into the apartment, but I knew Carmen would lose all respect for me. I had allowed her to do as she wanted, and it wasn't my job to stop her from living her life. I pulled out my phone and checked the time. 11:58. She was supposed to be home by 11:45! I called her but I only got voicemail. I left her a message and plopped down on the couch.

Adam walked in from the kitchen. "Why are you still awake?"

I sighed. "Carmen hasn't come home yet. She still at Josh's apartment."

"And you know this how?" I could see a grin tugging at his lips.

"I haven't heard footsteps, okay?" I said. Adam sat down beside me.

"You really care about her don't you?" I nodded. "My advice is to let her be. She is smart enough to make her own decisions. You know what they say: If you love someone, set them free. If they come back, they're all yours. If they don't, they were never yours in the first place."

I smiled. "Thanks. I just really don't trust that Josh guy. He doesn't seem right for her. She's too good for him."

"I don't think he's meant for her either. But you have to remember that's what dating's all about. She needs to experiment until she finds what's right for her. Now, take a drink and relax. She'll be fine."

I did what he said. "When did you become so great with dating?"

"Probably when I got a girlfriend,"

I choked on water. "You what?"

"Didn't I tell you? The girl next door, Megan, is my new girlfriend. She's a huge fan, but not in a creepy way. Plus, she has beautiful eyes..."

"When did this happen?"

He shrugged. "Two weeks ago?"

I slammed my glass down onto the table. "Does everyone have a date but me?"

"Jerome doesn't, but him and Annette seem pretty close..."

I huffed and went to my room. Could this day get any worse? I looked at the clock. It was 12 o'clock. What was Carmen doing over there, sleeping over? I laid down on my bed and closed my eyes. Not quite sleeping, but listening. I heard a door open and a female voice talk excitedly. Then I heard smooching sounds. I nearly gagged. A hall door opened and I jumped out of bed, rushing to talk to Carmen.

"Why are you just getting home now?" I demanded.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm only, like, five minutes late. Besides, who's gonna stop me?"

I stood up taller. "Me."

"Oh, I'm so scared!" She faked. I glanced at her outfit.

"Since when do you own a skirt?"

"News flash, I am a girl. Girls wear skirts."

"Okay Ms. Sassy. Now, go to bed."

She groaned. "Stop trying to run my life."

I glared. "Carmen, go."

"My name is Carmella, dummy." She stomped towards her apartment. "And I'm only doing this because I need my beauty sleep." She slammed the door.

Who did I just talk to? That certainly wasn't Carmen. I wonder what happened to her. Maybe she had a lot of stress from college? She probably had a bad day or something. I yawned and went back into my room, ready to sleep for hours.

**I know, short chapter. I'm trying people! I keep procrastinating and writing the end of the story instead because I have it all worked out in my head. Leave a review telling me who's POV you would like to see!**


	10. Old Me

**Long chapter that hopefully makes up for the short one!I wrote for an hour straight to accomplish this. I am so excited for this one! Josh confuses me. Bye!**

Taylor POV

I groaned as my alarm clock rang. I was so tired from partying all weekend I didn't want to get up. No, I wasn't having a hangover or anything, I'm not like that. I'm actually the opposite. You know, the innocent girls who couldn't hurt a fly, that would be me. Don't judge people by stereotypes. I'm not a perfect fit for that one.

I opened up my laptop and checked my YouTube channel. I was so close to 100,000 subscribers, but right now I only had 99,736. I checked out my other subscriptions and saw that MincraftUniverse had uploaded a video. He was doing an Epic Jump map with Sky and Deadlox. I figured that was what I had heard next door. Adam screamed a lot when recording. A lot.

Jason was my favorite YouTuber, next to Mitch. Mitch was more if a real-life crush than a subscription. Jason inspired my channel name, StarrGalaxy. I had been with him since 100,000. It was cool thinking he was once as popular as me, and maybe I'd be as popular as him one day.

Carmella **(it feels so weird writing that, but Taylor likes the girly her) **and Annette stood in my doorway. "Get up sleepy!" said Annette.

"Sorry, just checking my channel. I'm so close to 100,000!" I told her. She nodded.

Megan walked into view. "What's up?"

"We decided to actually wake up," said Carmella. I laughed.

"What time are you guys leaving to go to the mall?" asked Megan.

I forgot: It's Thanksgiving break! Carmella, Annette and I were going to get our nails done. "Around an hour from now,"

"And I have my date with Adam! Hungers Games and then a movie," Megan said. I raised my eyebrows.

"That's what you call a date? When I get a boyfriend we will go to a fancy restaurant and then go to a romantic movie." I refrained from saying 'When I get Mitch to date me.'

She rolled her eyes. "I have my lifestyle, you have yours." She went to take a shower.

An hour later we were dressed and ready to go. I had just opened the door when Josh came by. "I need Carmella now." he said.

She looked at us. I shrugged. "Go ahead." She smiled and took his hand. Annette and I walked to the elevator and got on.

Carmen POV

The blackness was nice. I could hear voices, but I usually tuned them out. I heard my friends and that was it. I certainly didn't hear him.

One minute I was soaking in the darkness, enjoying the feeling of being carefree. The next I was staring into his evil eyes. "Am I free or something?" I asked.

He scoffed. "I said forever, didn't I? I need you to be yourself for Thanksgiving so your parents don't question anything. You won't be able to tell anyone because I put a potion on you. Don't try anything or you, Mitch, and Jerome will suffer. Agreed?"

I pretended to think. "Let me just do one thing..." I smacked him hard. "Now I agree. Just had to get that out of me."

His hands turned into balls. He went to punch me but I blocked him. "Never hit a lady. Besides, I haven't hit anyone in over two months, remember? I need to let my emotions out." He glared and pushed me towards the door.

"Remember our deal. You break it..." He made a knife motion over his neck. I gulped. "Now give your boyfriend a kiss."

"Not when I have control over myself." I stepped outside and slammed the door in his face.

That probably wasn't the best idea, but I needed to let him know he would never own me. For the first time, I looked down at my outfit and gagged. I quickly rushed to my apartment and raided my closet. It was full of skirts and and pink. I cursed myself a few times before digging out a pair of jeans and a T-shirt I had stuffed way in the back.

Footsteps approached me and Megan popped her head in. "Carmen? Weren't you going to the mall?"

I was going to the mall? Oops. "Um... I got a migraine." I pretended to be in pain. "I decided to stay."

"Oh," she said, clearly not believing it. "Well I have my date with Adam soon. Are you okay with being alone?"

Did she say date? I missed a lot. "Yeah I'm fine. Have fun!"

She smiled. "Bye and feel better!"

I laid down on the bed. I really hated having to be back. It left me with a very important question: Did I try to escape Josh? If I left then he would hurt Mitch and Jerome. If I brought then with me, he'd most likely turn to Annette and Taylor and Megan. There was no right answer. I decided to push that aside and read Annette's diary to catch up.

I found out that Jerome and Annette were dating, which was good; Adam and Megan were also a couple; Josh and I looked cute together but she didn't trust him, smart girl; and that she thought Mitch and Taylor should get together. Something inside me felt broken when I read that. I could never picture Mitch with anyone but, well, me to be honest. When we were growing up I had always imagined us going to prom together and getting married. I didn't feel that way now, of course, but I never thought he'd actually find someone perfect for him.

I decided to go visit him and Jerome. I knocked on the door and he answered. "Carmen? Your not wearing a skirt?"

I realized that if I didn't act girly, he'd know something was up. I didn't know if that was good or bad, but I also didn't know how my other self acted. I went with being the same old me. "It's like 40 degrees out, why would I wear a skirt?"

He looked at me quizzically. "That's all you've worn for the past week."

I shrugged. "I got really cold yesterday. So what are you doing for Thanksgiving?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Jerome, Annette, and I are going to your house for Thanksgiving. Remember?"

"Why isn't Jerome going to his family?" I knew both Mitch and Annette lived alone.

He put a hand on my forehead. "Are you sick? Your parents moved into the house you rented last month,"

My head started to spin. "I have a migraine, that's all." I tripped and fell into him. He frowned.

"I'm taking you back you your apartment. You need to rest." He picked me up in his arms. I was to dizzy to object.

It was just my luck that we ran into Josh in the hallway. "What are you doing with my girlfriend?"

"She's nauseous and can't walk back to her apartment." Mitch replied calmly. Josh glared at me.

"I can carry her."

"No!" I yelled. They both stared at me. "I... Um... Don't really want my boyfriend to see me get sick. Mitch has already seen that."

His expression stayed the same. "Fine." Just as Mitch turned around I saw Josh make the knife motion.

**Carmen is temporarily back yay! Now, since I like to see you people rage, leave a note in the comments on what you want to say to Josh. Hehe. XD**


	11. New POV

**You asked for this modeluchosen1... WHY?! I hate writing this, but I must...**

Josh POV :O

How dare Mitch touch my girl? He should know she was off-limits. Carmella was mine and mine forever. No one else could have her.

Mitch always seemed to get in the way of these things. He's the one who had to go and play hero in 8th grade. I had no clue why he didn't recognize me. I guess he was just as dumb as I thought.

I knew I couldn't do anything to Mitch or Jerome now. I honestly had thought I'd scared her into behaving for now. It seemed as though she didn't want to live her life with me. How could she not want to? The darn potion was supposed to change her mind. I mean, who wants to have their wife drugged all the time? Not me. (**Hypocrite alert**)

Now there was the danger of her getting away this weekend. If I knew her, she'd have some elaborate plan. Maybe the sickness would distract her from escaping. Maybe she'd believe that I would hurt her friends. My god, love is like playing with fire. Either way, I'm going to get burned.

Megan POV

Carmen was acting weird. When I first met her, she was kind of girly. Then she was a full-on girl. Now she's turned tomboyish? Maybe she had troubles with that time of the month... And that migraine thing? Totally a fake. I guess she really didn't want to go shopping.

Adam knocked on my door and I answered. He wore a suit and tie. I looked down at my jeans and t-shirt. "Should I change?"

He laughed. "Normally, I'd say no, but we are going to a fancy restaurant."

"What happened to Hunger Games and a movie?"

"It's our one month anniversary. Aren't the girls supposed to be the ones on top of these things?"

I sighed. "Okay. Sit down here and I'll be back." I went to my room to put on the one dress I owned. It was a maroon sleeveless dress that went to the floor. I pulled a jacket over it and went out to meet Adam.

"Someone looks hot today."

I punched him. "Stop being a flirt."

He backed off. "Sorry." I was a good influence to stop his player-like persona. I didn't need to be like Carmen with her boyfriend. He seemed like he'd dump her for someone else in an instant.

Adam and I actually got into a conversation about that at dinner. "Do you trust Josh?" Adam asked me. I shook my head.

"He seems like a total player. Besides, Carmen acts so weird around him. She's like the opposite of what I thought she was like."

Adam swallowed his spaghetti. "I know. She's trying to get us to call her Carmella. I mean, I miss the cool gamer-girl image she had when I met her."

"If Josh lays a finger on her, I swear I'll pound him to a pulp. I'm not sure Carmen can make her own choices anymore."

He nodded. "And I'll be there with you, shouting every curse word I know." I smiled. He was so adorable when he threatened people.

The rest of the date went very well. Adam dropped me off at my door around 10pm. I turned to open the door, but then stopped. "Can you do me a favor?" I asked.

His eyes gleamed with excitement. "Yes!"

I rolled my eyes. "Not that kind if favor, you creeper. I meant that I need you to watch Josh and make sure he doesn't harm her. A d I'll watch Carmen. Deal?"

He stepped closer. "Deal." And to seal it off, he pulled me in for our first kiss. I didn't stop smiling for days.

**If you like the Josh POVs let me know. I know it was boring and short , but I really wanted to update today. Next chapter is Thanksgiving! Let me know in the comments who your favorite pairing is. Also, Taylor will be getting her romance on in a few chapters... Don't be alarmed that I forgot. **


	12. Old Places

**I hate filler chapters. They're so hard to write and they make me feel guilty for making you guys suffer. Also, thanks for 1000+ views! By the way, your rage at Josh was highly entertaining. It's raining and I'm scared. **

Carmen POV

"Why so happy?" I asked Megan. She had this grin on her face for no apparent reason.

"Oh, nothing..." She was silent for a minute, then it all burst out. "Adam and I had our first kiss!"

We all cheered and hugged her. "Congrats!" said Taylor.

Megan gasped. "Did I just kiss and tell? Oh no!"

Annette calmed her down. "Trust me, we would've found a way to know about it. Besides, Adam probably told Mitch and Jerome."

She sighed. "I guess. I just don't want to be like those girls."

Taylor narrowed her eyes. "Do you have something against those girls?"

Megan stood up. "Why, yes, yes I do."

Annette stepped between them. "Girls, girls, you're both pretty. Now sit down and eat your breakfast." They looked at each other and laughed.

I spooned some more oatmeal into my mouth. The other me had different tastes, so there was no sugary cereal in the house. Hopefully my mom knew what to buy me when we went to her house for Thanksgiving. She knew I was a chocoholic.

The other me. It felt weird saying that. I mean, you've heard of people with spilt personalities, but never literally. I actually have two different sides of me. I guess I always knew I was a unique person.

The flight to New Jersey was long. I had a window seat next to Mitch because Jerome and Annette wanted to sit together. I tried to ignore how close they were sitting, because I really didn't enjoy seeing my two best friends in a relationship. It wasn't that I was against it, I just wasn't used to it yet. Mitch kept his distance, although once in a while her shoot me a worried glance. I guess he still thought I was sick.

When my mom answered the door, I immediately embraced her. I knew this could be the last time the real me would ever see her. I had already decided to do everything I could to make a good impression.

She looked down at my outfit. "No sweatshirt today?" I had to wear a sweater, skinny jeans, and boots because someone had gotten rid if my good clothes.

I shrugged. "People change." She smiled in that way moms do when they think your growing up.

"I finally have a daughter, not a son." She didn't actually offend me by saying that.

Dinner was delicious. The turkey was cooked to perfection, and my mom made us Chocolate truffles and pumpkin pie for dessert. Jerome's mom came over like how it used to be, because neither of our families had relatives that came for Thanksgiving. I got to talk to Jerome's mom again and tell her about college. She seemed to like Annette too, so that was a plus.

I went up to the room I was sleeping in. It was bare and it made me feel sad. I knew it would never be decorated how I wanted. Come to think of it, Josh would probably take me away as soon as college was over.

He was ruining my life. I knew what I had to do. I couldn't live the rest of my life wondering who he would threaten next. I hurriedly started packing my things.

"Carmen?" Said a voice as I rapidly shoved clothes into my bag. I spun around to be face to face with Mitch. "What are you doing?"

"I have to... sort some things out with Josh. I left some things unfinished." I continued repacking.

"No. You can not leave this vacation to go be with him." I turned to him and glared.

"Is someone jealous?"

He glared back. "No, I just don't trust him. I don't want you to get hurt." He sat down on the bed. I sat beside him.

"I know how to stay out of trouble. Besides, when's the last time I let someone hurt me? Never."

He put his arm around me. "If you think you can do this, go ahead. I won't be there your whole life to protect you. Just remember, I'm always available to pound him if he hurts you." I smiled.

"Thanks. I guess I'll stay." How was I supposed to fix things now? It would have been so much easier if they were all gone. Suddenly, a plan formed in my mind. I felt the most powerful I had in the last few months. My confidence returned and I knew I could do it. I could do anything.

"Wanna play some Minecraft?" He asked.

I nodded and we grabbed our laptops. I signed onto my account and waited for Mitch to join me. "Let's play hide and seek."

"Sure," he smiled. "My viewers would love that."

It suddenly occurred to me that my other self may not have posted videos. While I was waiting, I checked my channel. To my relief, I had uploaded videos. Sure, they weren't the same quality, but I managed to rake in 50,000 more subs. Not bad, I thought.

"Now, who's doing the intro?" I had my headset on (yuck, my other self had bought a pink one) and Mitch had his. I was ready to start my recording software.

"You take it," he told me. I nodded and started recording.

"3,2,1. Hey guys, it's Golden Flame here and I'm with the one and only BajanCanadian! We're playing some hide and seek here."

"I can't wait to get solid," Mitch joked. I rolled my eyes.

"Okay, I feel like those jokes don't work when a girl is here." He laughed.

I was a fence and we were playing Town Square. I sat on top of the fountain, because no one ever looked there. Mitch and I commentated on lots of things, most likely boring the viewers to death. The best part was when he rage-quit.

"Oh no, I see a seeker!" He said. I looked onto his screen and watched the scene play out. A business bacca came up to him and paused. After five seconds, he started beating the crap out of Mitch. I laughed as Mitch tried to fight back and died. "That's it, I quit!" He yelled. He slammed down the headphones and stormed out of the room.

Still laughing, I decided to end the video. "Well, this has been Carmen and Mitch playing Minecraft. Leave a like and a comment and I'll see you later embers!" I shut off my recording equipment.

** The worst thing about fillers? Cliffhangers are next to impossible. In the reviews, tell me what you think Carmen's plan is! Also, we'll be getting new characters next chapter, including an OC I got. Once again, I apologize for my inability to write good chapters. **


	13. New Faces

**Omg I'm posting Chapter 13 on Friday the 13th!**

**I have been getting so many PMs telling me that people actually like my story! Thank you thank you thank you! Also, the OC Blaze will appear briefly in this chapter. He will be a bigger part later, trust me. Warning: Major troll ahead!**

Carmen POV

The rest of vacation involved Jerome and Annette being all lovey dovey, Mitch worrying about me, and me worrying about my plan. I suppose the worst that could happen was that I'd fail and I'd just become his lifelong slave... My god I needed this to work more than anything. Just in case I was wrong when it came to loopholes, I told my mom I loved her and gave her a big kiss before leaving.

Megan and Taylor hadn't gotten back yet, so Annette and I dropped off our stuff and went to the boys' room. Thankfully, Josh wasn't back yet either. When I walked in, I saw the three boys standing next to an unfamiliar face. Annette seemed to know who he was though.

Her eyes were wide with shock. "Your MinecraftUniverse, right?"

The boy nodded. "Yup. You can just call me Jason." She and I shook his hand. "Now the question is, who are you?"

Annette smiled. "I'm Jerome's girlfriend Annette."

He smiled back. "Nice to meet you. So you must be Adam or Mitch's girlfriend!"

I stepped forward. "Actually, I'm just a friend. My name's Carmen."

"Okay, just a friend," he winked.

I scowled. "Not like that. I actually was friends with Mitch and Jerome when we were younger."

"Sure." He said. I ignored his tone and turned to Adam. "So how was your vacation?"

He sighed. "Mostly just recording and stuffing my face with food. Though it was nice to have something other than cereal."

I would have talked more but I was interrupted by a text alert. "Ugh, Josh needs to see me. Bye guys," I said reluctantly. I accidentally locked eyes with Mitch, but I tried to make an expression that showed him it was okay.

"How was your vacation?" Josh asked me in a tone that mocked me.

"Great, except for the looming threat of my friends getting hurt," I said sarcastically. I glanced over at the other boy. He wore a red top that said Chicken Nugget Budda, blue jeans, and a green jumper. "Who's that?"

"That's Blaze, my new roommate. I'm teaching him how to make potions." I turned to Blaze.

"Soon, you can have a drugged girlfriend too!"

"I don't have time for this. Let's just get you drugged and ready." I nodded and walked to the closet.  
"Here's the water."

I stopped him. "Two questions: is this the last time I'll be myself, ever?" He nodded. "Also, can I have a tissue? I'm still a bit sick."

"Only because I don't want you walking through the apartment." He ran off and brought one back.

I took the drink and held it in my palms. "By the way..." I stuck up my middle finger. "Now I'm ready."

He growled a bit. I drank some as he closed the door. When I knew he was away, I prayed my plan would work and did it.** (TROLOLOLOLOLOLOLO)**

Taylor POV

Carmella and Annette weren't home when I arrived. I assumed they went to the other apartment, so I went to check there. A familiar face answered the door.

"MinecraftUniverse?" I asked, shocked.

"The one and only." He smiled at me. "Call me Jason."

"I'm Taylor. I live next door. Are Carmella and Annette in here?"

"Carmen left to go be with her boyfriend, but Annette's still here. Come on in."

I walked into the apartment. Annette and Jerome were sitting on a couch, Mitch and Adam on the other. They seemed to be talking about a dance.

"And poor Mitch has no one to take to the dance. Aww!" Adam said with mock sympathy.

"What dance?" asked Jason.

"The winter formal. It's next week. Oh, and you have no date too! First semester here and you have to go to a dance." Jerome said.

"I'll find one." Jason winked at me. I fangirled a bit. Was he flirting with me? I sat down at a table and Jason sat across from me. "So, do you have a YouTube channel?"

"Yeah," I said as I tried to stay calm. "It's called StarrGalaxy. The name was actually inspired by you." I blushed a little. He smiled.

"That's cool. How many subscribers do you have?"

I pulled out my phone. "Let me check," I loaded the page and groaned. "Are you kidding?"

"What?"

"I have 99,999!"

He laughed. "Wow. Bad luck eh?"  
I smiled weakly. He got out of his chair. "I have to use the restroom. Be right back."

"Okay," I said.

I waited for a while, but then I heard a beep from my phone. A subscriber alert! I hurriedly checked to see who it was. My jaw dropped.

MinecraftUniverse.

**I shall explain thy troll at a later date. Anyways, in the reviews tell me who you think Mitch should take to the dance. (Taylor, random girl, should I get an OC? They would have a minor part though)**


	14. Old Memories

**I am so sorry I didn't update yesterday, I was at a party! I may post another chapter tonight if I finish it, just to make up for yesterday. Now I present... Carmen's dramatic backstory! **

**Warning: Slight mention of, you know, doing it. Doesn't actually happen though.**

Mitch POV

I watched sadly as everyone talked about the dance. I was the only one without a date. It was pretty obvious that Taylor and Jason would hit it off, and that left me to be forever alone. Besides, the girl I wanted was taken. Oddly enough, this had happened before.

**Note: Mitch doesn't remember the boy's name or face, so he doesn't get that it's Josh yet. Don't kill me and here is a look into Carmen's past! From Mitch's POV though.**

_I was ready. After four years of being just friends, I would take her to the dance. Jerome was positive she would say yes. I got out the rose and went to go ask her._

_When I got to her locker, she was talking to someone else. I tried to hear the conversation._

_"Um... Carmen? So, we've been friends for, like, two whole months now. Will you go to the dance with me?"_

_She gasped. "Yes! I thought no one would ask me!" She hugged him and my heart sank. I slowly walked away..._

_They were too close. Jerome and I watched as Carmen and that boy slow danced. They went on for a while until he whispered something in her ear. She giggled and ran off. I got up and started to follow them._

_They entered an abandoned building that was just days away from collapsing. I watched from the window._

_"... No, I'm too young! Just wait until I'm older."_

_"This is happening now, Carmen, whether you like it or not."_

_"Please! Go away from me!"_

_"The doors are locked, you're trapped. Just stop crying and it will make this easier."_

_My jaw dropped. Was he doing what I thought he was... I rushed to the door and started kicking it._

_"Who's there?" said the boy. I heard Carmen get up._

_"Help! Help me-" Her voice was muffled. With one last kick the door came crashing down and I stepped inside. He was holding her with a knife to her throat._

_"Put her down. Now." I growled. Carmen's eyes went from shocked to relieved when she saw me._

_"Whatcha gonna do, call 911? I'll kill her if you do." I shivered. What was I supposed to do?_

_"What do you want with her?"_

_He smiled like a creeper. "She was going to be mine forever. Until you got in the way. Now listen to me. I'm going to put her down and walk away. If you try to hurt me or call the police, she'll be dead by morning. I know where you live, Carmen." I saw her gulp. I nodded. "Okay. One, two, three." He released her and she ran into my arms. He walked away, but I didn't notice as I tried to comfort her. She sobbed into my arms for about an hour. We sat down, her still right next to me._

_"He was going to hurt me," she whispered._

_"I know, I heard," I told her. She sniffled and sat up a bit._

_"Thank you for saving me," Her voice wavered, but she sounded stronger. "I don't know where I'd be if it wasn't for you." I just kept on hugging her until we both went home._

She didn't eat for weeks, until I finally brought her a blueberry muffin. She couldn't resist and ate it. Her parents decided that she needed to leave, and right before ninth grade she moved. I never saw her again, until now. I decided that I wouldn't let that happen again. Even if Carmen wouldn't trust me, I refused to let anyone hurt her, because I would be her guardian angel.

**More to come tonight. Now, I need to ask you guys a favor. Recently, I've been notified that my character Carmen may be a Mary-Sue. In the reviews, please tell me if that is true. I honestly would much rather fix this now than later, so don't be afraid to give criticism. I won't take any offense or judge you. **


	15. New Partnership

**I finished it. :D New OC! Also, I have a challenge. Try to figure out what her last name means. It's a puzzle!**

The cold November air whipped and whirled around, encasing me in a freezing blanket. Snowflakes were starting to fall from the dark clouds. I stuck out my tongue and caught one, just like when I was little. A gust of wind blew thousands of flakes into my face. I pulled my jacket over my mouth and trudged on.

I eventually arrived at the coffee shop, and I ordered myself a steaming hot cocoa and sat in the plush chairs. Across from me was a girl with sharp features. Her brown hair fell gracefully around her black jacket. She was wearing a pink top, boots, and black jeans. She seemed like the kind of girl that wouldn't have a date yet, but wouldn't kill me to hang out with her. I cautiously approached her.

"What do you want, mortal?" She grunted.

"Hello," I said. "My name is Mitchell Hughes, but you can call me Mitch. What's your name?"

"Equinox Monde. Why do you care?"

"Oh, I was just wondering if you had a date to the dance."

She snorted. "I don't go to dances. Now, excuse me as I finish my homework." She went back to typing on her laptop.

"Could you make an exception?"

She shut her laptop. "Why are you so desperate to go to the dance with me? You could probably take any other girl."

I sighed. "There's this girl, and I'm afraid her boyfriend is going to hurt her. I need a date so I can watch her without her knowing."

"Who is this girl?"

"Carmen Paige."

"Isn't she dating that Josh guy?" She seemed mildly interested.

"Yes, and I don't really trust him. So, could you help me out?"

She sighed. "Fine. But don't expect me to start dating you or something." I smiled at my victory.

Equinox POV

I knocked on Josh's door. He opened it. "What do you want?"

I smiled mischievously. "I have some... Information you may want."

"Oh really?" I gave him a face that said yes. "Come in then..."

I sat down at his kitchen table. In the corner, a boy appeared to be making a potion that smelled like roses. "Hey Blaze," I called to him. He waved without turning around. "A hello would be nice." I muttered.

Josh handed me a cup of tea. I pushed it back. "What potion did you put in it?" He raised his eyebrows in amusement.

"Just a basic truth potion. Drink it or I'll know you're lying." I rolled my eyes and took a sip.

"Anyways, how is your relationship going?" I asked sweetly.

"Cut the act. It's going fine, she appears to be progressing properly through the transformation. The dance on Friday should be that last night before she's completely brainwashed. Then she'll be mine forever, like she should have been five years ago."

I took another sip. "Not if Mitch stops you."

He looked straight at me. "What?"

"Mitch and I talked today. He told me he doesn't trust you and he's using me to spy on you guys."

He slammed his fist onto the table. "You're lying."

I shrugged. "Truth potion, remember?"

Blaze turned around from his work. "What does that mean for us, Master Josh? If he finds out, we could get arrested."

Josh growled. "I will not let this turn out like last time. Mitch will not get in my way. Not if I get to him first, anyways. Equinox, how do you feel about assisting me in the disposal of this boy?"

I leaned in. "What's in it for me?"

"Five hundred thousand dollars."

I shook his hand. "Deal. But I call murdering him if necessary."

"Deal,"

Blaze POV

I couldn't let it happen. I was a huge fan of BajanCanadian, so I couldn't let him die! Thus was not what I signed up for when I wanted to take a potions class. I didn't expect to be his slave either.

There was one tiny problem. Josh could obviously beat me in any fight. If him and Equinox were teamed... I shuddered. My only hope would be getting others to help. But how would I convince Mitch's friends, or Mitch for that matter, that he was in danger? Especially since I was working for the supposed bad guy. The best move was to strike when the right time comes. Hopefully Carmen will feel the need to save him too.

As the two discussed their plans, I pressed record on my phone and went on working...

**Hopefully the dance will be in the chapter after the next. I'm so crazy I know what each girl is wearing already... I have no life. Still let me know in the reviews if Carmen's too Mary-Sueish!**


	16. Old Agreements

**Yay the action is being set up here! Woot woot! Anyways, THANK YOU SO MUCH for 2000+ views! My dreams of being cool apparently interest people... Anyways here's the chapter!**

Megan POV

Today I was forced to go dress shopping. Did I ever mention that I hate shopping? Plus, I had to actually get my hair and makeup done! Gosh, I hated acting like a real girl.

Carmen was also a bit reluctant. I was surprised, considering that she just went through her I love makeup stage. I was still keeping a close eye on her, though. Adam had kept his end of the bargain too. I now knew that Josh didn't seem to be doing anything bad, but he spent loads if time in his apartment with Carmen. He also told me about the other guys. Mitch had gotten a girl to go with him to the dance, but she totally wasn't right for him. She was one of those girls who wore all black and looked like she could kill you with any item. I had better watch her at the dance.

Anyways, dress shopping. I bought a sleeveless purple dress that went all the way to the floor, as I was all about modesty. It had a jewel-encrusted belt. I hated that, but Taylor insisted I looked adorable. Eventually I figured that Adam would want a girlfriend, not a guy, to take to the dance. I even got a pair of small heels. If I could figure out how to walk in them it would be a miracle.

Taylor got a gorgeous sparkly aqua dress that ended mid-thigh. It had a high waist with a white jewel belt around it, and it proofed into a million layers below that. She got a pearl necklace and white heels to go with it. I thought she looked cute, though it personally was too short for my taste.

Annette got a dark blue gown that matched her eyes so well it made her look stunning. It also reached to the floor. It was a one shoulder with a pleated looking bottom. She also had a sparkly belt. That appeared to be the new fad. Carmen's dress also brought out her eyes. It was a emerald green dress with ruffles all along the bottom. Our dresses weren't quite practical for winter.

Taylor insisted we take a picture. Afterwards we bought the dresses and went to the food court. Carmen and I got French fries and a hamburger, Annette and Taylor a salad. We looked around a bit then headed home. The others went to get ready for the dance while I visited Adam and told him about what Carmen was up to.

"So basically, Carmen went from tomboy, to girly girl, then tomboy, and now a mixture?" He asked.

"Yup." I replied before taking a sip on my diet Pepsi. "So how's Mitch doing?"

He sighed. "I honestly thought he was depressed when Carmen got Josh, but now he's got his date and all. Also, Josh seems to have acquired a new roommate named Blaze. I don't know how, or why, but he might be up to something."

With perfect timing, Blaze burst through our door. "Sorry to interrupt, but this is important! I think Josh and Equinox are going to do something to Mitch!"

Adam raised his eyebrows. "Why should we believe you?"

He pulled out his phone. "Listen to this." He pressed play.

_"Equinox, how do you feel about assisting me in the disposal of this boy?" Said Josh._

_"What's in it for me?"_

_"Five hundred thousand dollars."_

_"Deal. But I call murdering him if necessary."_

_"Deal,"_

_"Now, how are we going to do this?" She asked._

_"You're taking him to the dance, right? Bring him to the waterfall at precisely 10:30. I'll take it from there."_

_"Got it."_

The recording shut off. "Is that enough proof?"

I stood up. "Where is Mitch? I have to warn him!"

"He already left," Adam informed me.

I cursed. "Let me go get dressed. Meet you here at 9:30, okay?"

"See you then," I kissed him on the cheek and left, ready to save my friends in a dress and heels.

**Things are getting intense, man! Below are links to what the dresses look like if you're interested in that type of thing. In the reviews tell me your rating of this story 1-10 and why!**

**Update: Apparently you can't do links here. Darn. Instead, I shall tell you where to go:**

**Carmen- shoppromdress type in search taffeta dark green dress, girl under chandelier (9th results)**

**Annette- promgirl type in search XOXO long blue prom dress (first result)**

**Taylor- uniquevintage type in search aqua chiffon short dress (first result)**

**Megan- dhgate type in purple prom dress UK tony bowls (fourth result)**

**I know this is really complicated but it took me hours to pick the right dresses. I hope at least one of you checks them out :)**


	17. New Disappearances

**There are a billion POVs for this chapter because so much is going on! I'm so so excited for this! Also, I changed the cover to Carmen's Minecraft skin. Tell me if you like it!**

**Also, the guest who said equinox's names is an anagram is correct! Monde= Demon. Scary...**

Jason POV

Taylor looked gorgeous in her dress. I liked how she chose a short one while the others went for a longer look. It wasn't too revealing, though, so she was perfect. I loved the white accents too. She has good taste.

We walked arm in arm into the dance. I looked around and spotted Jerome and Annette, Carmen and that Josh guy, and Mitch standing alone. I gave Taylor a concerned glance as we walked over to him. "Hey dude, where's your date?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Right here." I looked at the empty space.

"Okay then... You and your imaginary date have fun." Taylor and I walked away, ignoring the confused look on Mitch's face.  
A slow song came on and we danced together until Taylor had to go to the bathroom. It was perfect.

Mitch POV

"Why couldn't they see you?" I asked Equinox.

She shrugged. "Dunno. I'll be in the bathroom really quick." I watched as she flounced away and sighed. She wasn't really the type of girl I was into. The short black dress and red accents? "Red is for blood." She had told me. I had smiled weakly and grabbed some punch.

Honestly, the type of girls I was into were the girls who wore dresses that matched their eyes. The girls who weren't afraid to be themselves and stand up for what they believed in. The girls who would do anything for their friends because they were selfless. Sadly, these were the girls who were taken. I wasn't good enough for them. All I had were half a million crazy fangirls who only like me for my popularity and looks.

I sipped my punch and wondered why it was so unfair. Was having a successful channel all I could get in life? It was great, don't get me wrong, but I really wanted to have the girl I loved. I would give up nearly everything for her. I just wished she knew how I felt...

Equinox POV

Dammit! They couldn't see me? Then why could Mitch? I made up an excuse and ran to the bathroom. Luckily, no one was there.

I looked into the mirror and saw nothing. God dammit, I was invisible. I said the incantation very quickly so Mitch wouldn't question why I was gone.

_Spirits from the depths of hell  
Make me human to do your deeds  
Although only time will tell  
Give me your powers in my need __**(I suck at writing chants :)**_

I smiled evilly as my body began to form. Eventually, I saw myself. Little did I notice the face in the mirror behind me, watching in horror.

Megan POV

I stumbled into the dance, managing to break a heel in the process. I silently curse my gender for their lack of practical footwear. I spotted Mitch and rushed over to him. "Mitch!"

He turned. "Oh, hey Megan. Where's Adam?"

I rolled my eyes. "Even in broken heels, I'm still faster than him."

He laughed. "You haven't happened to have seen my date?"

"No, but I need to warn you about her." The smile fell off his face. "She's planning something with Josh. They want to stop you from finding out something, I don't know what. They said they'd kill you if needed."

His eyes widened. "He is evil! Carmen could be in trouble!"

I looked at him in surprise. "I just told you that you might get murdered, but all you care about is that Carmen may or may not be in trouble?"

Adam walked into the dance breathing heavily. "How do you run that fast?"

I smiled. "I practice. Anyways, what are we going to do?"

"Do about what?" said a voice. I turned around to see Equinox with an innocent smile on her face. What a fake.

"Oh... We're out of punch. Now what will people say in an awkward situation? Megan and I will get some more." Adam said quickly.

"No." I said sternly. "I'll stay with Mitch and Equinox." I saw Adam's eyes light up with understanding and he nodded. I turned back towards the two. "So, how is your date going?"

"Great," said Equinox, obviously bored.

"I'm going to dance. Want to come with me?" Mitch asked.

"Mind if I steal your boyfriend for one dance?" I asked her.

"Be my guest. I don't like to dance."

Mitch led me onto the dance floor. Unluckily, a slow song started. "I hope neither of our dates mind." I said as we danced. "So what do we do about Equinox?"

He thought for a moment. "They said they were going to stop me from finding something out. What do I know that might be a threat to them?"

I tried to give him ideas. "Did you ever say anything to Carmen that she may have told him?"

"I told her I'd pound him to a pulp if he hurt her."

"Not really what we're looking for." I decided. "Did you tell Equinox anything?"

His eyes flashed fearful for a moment. "...No."

"Mitch?"

He sighed. "I might have said that I didn't trust him and that I was using her to spy on him tonight. Oops." He added weakly.

I face palmed. "Is this really what you talk about with strangers?" He didn't answer. Suddenly, I got an idea. "You said you thought he'd hurt Carmen. What if the plan is to hurt her?"

His expression changed to terror. "No. Not again! I'm a horrible protector." He sobbed a bit.

I glanced over and gasped. "Mitch... Carmen and Josh are gone."

**OOO my first cliffhanger ever! On chapter 17... Typical me. Anyways, tell me where you think Josh and Carmen went in the reviews! Next chapter should get interesting. I'm so sad this might end soon. I have nothing else to do with my life.**


	18. Old Plans

**Long chapter yay! I honestly couldn't find a good place to stop this, so I gave you a really long one instead. Don't get used to it :p**

Warning: Lots of being knocked unconscious and abandoned buildings.

Taylor POV (before equinox goes back to Mitch)

I stared in horror as Mitch's date became visible. She was saying some kind of chant, like calling the demons from Hell. I was about to leave when she turned around. Her eyes widened. "Did you see that?"

Unsure of what to do, I nodded. She glared. "I can't allow you to get away now. Listen to me very carefully. I'm going to bring you to a shed and lock you in. Once I'm done with... Other business, I'll  
Come get you. If you try to escape, I'll come to your apartment and kill you. Agreed?"

I nodded again and started following her. She led me to our school's shed and roughly shoved me inside. "Don't try anything."

The door was slammed into my face. I slowly sank to the ground and sobbed. Why didn't I just run and call the police? Suddenly. I remembered I had my phone. I decided to call Carmen.

"Hello?" said Carmen in a deep voice. She must be sick.

"Carmen, help! Equinox trapped me in a shed! Send help!"

"Okay, I'll be right there." I sighed with relief and waited.

In five minutes, I heard someone push against the door. "I'm in here! Help!" I called. Soon they broke through. "Oh, thank you Carmen!" I said.

"This is for your own good." The figure in the hoodie muttered right before I blacked out.

Josh POV

I took off the hood and sighed. Were all of Carmen's friend insistent in ruining my plans? I felt a bit bad for knocking this girl out, but I needed to give her a memory loss potion. I didn't want to have to hurt her, too. I mean, I was already going to hurt two people so far. I gave her the potion and dragged her against the school. Hopefully she'd think she got drunk or something.

I rushed back to where Carmen was waiting for me. She stood innocently staring out the window, just as I had left her. "Hey, babe,"

"Hi. Where were you?" She asked.

"Oh, nowhere. Now, I need you to do something. Can I have a drop of your blood?"

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Why?"

"It's a love compatibility test."

She seemed hesitant, but eventually she gave in. "Okay."

I gently pricked her arm with a needle. A drop of blood landed on the strip of paper and I smiled. "Thanks, let me go check the results." I rushed off.

Now I could finally check to see how much time was left until she was completely brainwashed. I plugged the paper into the machines and waited. An icon that said results ready came up. I eagerly clicked it, but the results surprised me. "WHAT?"

Annette POV

I had no clue where Taylor or Carmen went. Mitch and Megan were dancing, and Equinox and Adam were nowhere to be seen. That may be a problem.

I went to the bathroom to check my hair. When I got in, I saw a purse lying on the counter. It looked like Carmen's, but since I wasn't sure I checked for ID. All I found was a note that said To My friends. My curiosity getting the better of me, I opened it up and read it.

_I have been drugged by Josh and therefore will not be acting like myself. Please forgive me for anything I do, and I love all of my family and friends. I don't know how long I'll be in this state, but please don't do anything rash to try and save me. I'll be fine._

_Carmella Paige_

I gasped. That must be why she was acting so girly! Mitch was right, Josh is evil! I knew I had to do something about this. I pulled out my phone.

Carmen and I had gotten trackers on each other's phones because our town had a bad side. In 10th grade, we made a promise to always look out for each other and to track each other when needed. I opened the app and checked to see where she was.

The old dorms? No one ever used those. I quickly shut my phone and rushed to save her.

Mitch POV

I'm a terrible protector. I ran out of the dance, up to my apartment, and into my room. For the first time in a while, I cried. I let her get taken by Josh only because I didn't act on instinct. I crossed my arms and sat down on the bed. I felt so alone.

She was in trouble, and I couldn't help her. Adam's words came back to me: If you live someone, set them free. Was this how I was supposed to set her free? Let her go an act like a completely new person and disappear? I needed to see the old Carmen. I grabbed my box of yearbooks and looked for her most recent picture, 8th grade. There she was: Carmella Paige. Her same beautiful brown hair, green eyes, and charming smile. I wished I could stare into those beautiful eyes again, they were her best feature.

I scanned the page to see who else I could find. Jerome looked hilarious with his messy hair. I didn't look half bad. Then I saw the picture where my heart stopped: Josh Mahoney. I didn't know he went to our school. I studied the face carefully, and suddenly I remembered.

How did I not see this before? Josh was the boy who broke Carmen's heart. The one who ruined her life. And he would do it again if I didn't stop him, I knew it! How could I have been so careless?

I knew I'd never forgive myself if something happened to her. I had to save her! From what, I didn't exactly know, but I needed to tell her. For all I knew, he was holding a knife to her throat right now.

Carmen POV

"Josh, sweetie, what's-" He pinned me to the wall, a knife to my throat.

"How? How did you do it, Carmen?" He asked.

I rolled my eyes. "First off, major déjà vou. Get rid of the knife, you can easily overpower me." He reluctantly lowered it. "Second, how did I do what?"

"Beat the test. I saw you drink that potion. How on earth did you not become brainwashed? Today was supposed to be the day!"

I smirked. "I take it the evil scientist hasn't heard of loopholes. Remember how the first potion wore off quickly? It doesn't take over my brain either. So, I spit out the potion into the tissue after you left . Simple plan, but very effective."

He glared. "And why did you still act girly?"

"The potion will give me girly instincts, but for the rest, there's this thing called acting. Apparently, I'm very good at it."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mitch and Annette in the window. What were they doing here? Did they ignore my note or something? My life was so complicated. I turned my attention back to Josh. "You can't fool me twice, Josh. I learn from my mistakes."

His face went from pale to bright red in seconds. "You know what, Carmen? I'm done with stubborn girls like you. I'm just going to leave before I get hurt. As for you..."

Everything turned to slow motion. I saw his fist rapidly approaching my head. Mitch and Annette were freaking out. I tried to duck. It got closer and closer until I felt the impact on my head and crumpled to the ground.

Mitch POV

I ran towards the dance as fast as I could. I was so lost in thought that I didn't notice the girl in front of me. "Ouch!" she cried as we fell to the ground. I held out my hand to pick her up.

"Annette? What're you doing?"

"Trying to save Carmen." She said breathlessly. "You?"

"Same. Do you know where she is?"

"Follow me." I sprinted after her. How did she do this in heels? I'll never get girls.

We arrived at the old dorms. I looked at Annette. "Here? And do you know what Josh is doing?"

"He drugged her into being unlike herself, I think," she said quietly. We peered around the corner.

"Really? I thought 8th grade was bad,"

She gasped. "That was him?"

"Carmen told you?"

She rolled her eyes. "How else was she supposed to explain her anorexia?"

I gasped this time. "She was anorexic? I know she didn't eat for a while, but it happened again?"

"Shh!" She said. I looked into the window. To my horror, Josh had her pinned against the wall. She seemed to be smirking at him. Carmen, the only girl I know that would taunt her captor. I liked her so much.

Suddenly, I saw him punch her. I heard a sickening crack as she fell to the floor. "No!" Annette yelled.

I barely heard her as I slammed through the window and and tackled Josh. I punched him five times before he overpowered me. "Boyfriend to the rescue, eh?" he mocked.

"Get off him!" yelled Annette. She began punching his arm. It seemed to have no effect.

"My gosh, now I have to dispose of two more!" he yelled. "Why can't Equinox just do her job for once?"

Five minutes later, we were bound and in the back of a car, driving off to certain death.

**I think I've figured this foreign concept called a cliffhanger. Anyways, tell me in the reviews who you think will save the day. Also, let me know if you think Carmen's plan was good, predictable, or dumb!**

**Fun fact: I wrote this in under two hours!**


	19. New Explanation aka I ran out of puns

**Thank you so much for 100 reviews! I thought 10 was an accomplishment. This story has grown faster than I've ever dreamed it would!**

**Three words for you: Fourth Wall Breakage. Corny but needed, plus I need to show off my awesome author powers! *flexes muscles***

I woke up and the world was hazy. There was a dull pain in my head. I sat up and looked down at my body. On it was a strange emerald green dress. 'What are you wearing, Carmen?' I thought to myself. This must be a nightmare where I turned into an actual girl. Oh right, I was drugged and brought to a dance.

I got off the floor and stood up. My limbs felt weird. Actually, it was like I couldn't feel them at all. Somehow I could still move them. I walked straight forward, not really knowing where I was going.  
"Need some help?" said a voice. I looked towards the direction of it. I saw an angel. She had blue eyes, shoulder-length brown hair with bangs, and wore a simple white dress. A horrible thought came to my mind.

"Am I dead?" I asked the angel.

"Of course you aren't dead, silly. Dying doesn't make a good story. Plus, my viewers would kill me if I just let you die. Being knocked into a coma isn't very heroic, now, is it?"

I didn't understand half of that. "If I am not dead, why am I talking to an angel? And did you say coma?"

"I'm not an angel, I'm an author. I have wings so I can easily navigate my stories. It's like... creative mode on Minecraft. And yes, you're in a coma. Don't worry, I made sure the doctors wouldn't take you off life support." She grinned evilly.

"Who are you?"

She stuck out her hand for a handshake. "My name is ScarlettSlaysSquids, or Scarlett for short. But we don't need to know about me, we need to know about you. So, how does it feel to know that your loved one has been plotting against you the whole time?"

"What is this, some kind of interview? I don't have time for this, I need to get out of here so I can KICK JOSH'S BUTT!" I said angrily.

"Fine, You can try. Call me when you fail." I trudged forward for what seemed like forever. After ten minutes I realized I was getting nowhere. I got tired and reached for my phone. It wasn't there. I sighed. "Fine!". She appeared right in front of me.

"Good. Now, I need to explain something to you. For the last few months or so, Josh drugged you with a potion that would make you girly so that you'd lose all your friends. Then he planned to do some...things...to you that I'm not sure I can mention because this is a T rated story." I shuddered at the thought. "Luckily, Mitch was so madly in love with you that he couldn't stay away for long. He and Annette tried to rescue you, but in the process you got knocked out. Josh overpowered him and he has now taken them captive. The ransom is, well, you."

I raised my eyebrows. "Is this a fairytale? And Mitch is in love with me?"

She shrugged. "Hon, it's fan fiction. Anything can happen." She took out a notepad. "Scarlett: Remember to give Carmen more ability to sense others' feelings."

"Are you talking to yourself?"

"I'm an author. Of course I talk to myself."

"Okay then..." This girl was weird. "So if you're an author, can't you rewrite my story so that it has a happy ending?"

She nervously twirled her hair. "You see... I could but... I wrote it this way for a reason. And I can't tell you why yet, because that is your destiny. All I can tell you is that you will awake from your coma after we are done talking. And you must free Mitch. Whether you are free or not is up to you."

"Why do people enjoy my near-death experiences?"

"I don't know, there are some weird people who read this.**(love ya guys 3) **Now, this is my fourth-wall repairman, ButtSaggington. **(yes I went there) **When he fixes this, all you will remember is that you were drugged and you need to free your friends. I have faith in you, Carmen. Now, let's fix this so my stories can go back to writing themselves. I've had three cups of coffee just to stay awake and write this!"** (And those references come from my 'You know you're an author when...' section on my profile)**

I thought about all that she had said to me. "You wrote Josh into this, didn't you?"

"Like I said, my stories write themselves. Except for now, when we have reached a dead end."

Well that helped. "One more question. Is this a dream, or are you real?"

She sighed. "It is a dream, I suppose, but does that make it unreal? To you, I am not real. I guess you could say I'm your conscience. I'll always be in the back of your mind."

"Thanks for the help!" I called sarcastically as she faded away.

I sighed as I took in my fate. Now... How was I supposed to get out? I heard a voice above me. It sounded like... Jerome? And Taylor was there too! I tried climbing to their voices, but it didn't work. Suddenly, I had wings like Scarlett. Wow, I loved this coma. Just because I could, I gave myself a blueberry muffin.

I flew as far as I could go, but they were just out of reach. I groaned. What could I do now? Then I remembered Scarlett talking to herself. It was worth a try.

'Come on, Carmen, get up! You can do it, just open your eyes and sit up.' I encouraged myself. My inner teenager moaned about having to wake up. After twenty minutes of trying, I lost it.

'GET UP YOU LAZY BUM! YOU NEED TO GO SAVE MITCH AND ANNETTE AND GET REVENGE! STOP BEING TIRED AND GET THE HECK UP!"

A bright light met my eyes. I saw a hospital bed, a heart monitor, and Jerome. I remembered everything. "She's awake!" said Jerome. He rushed over to hug me.

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"About 24 hours." **(Is that even considered a coma?)**

I swore. "Do you know what Josh could have done to Mitch and Annette by now? I need to go save them!" I tried to get out of the bed.

"Mitch and Annette are missing, Carmen. And what does Josh have to do with any of this?" Jerome asked.

I sighed. "Long story." I started pulling out IVs. "Josh drugged me, made me girly, they try to save me, I get knocked out, and yeah."

He frowned. "Put those back! And do you still have a concussion?"

I groaned. "I must sound crazy right now." I went to leave.

"Carmen, you need to rest!" Jerome said.

"Rest is for the weak, buddy!" I yelled as I ran out of the hospital, ready to murder my boyfriend.

**As this book comes towards the end, more and more reviewers get ticked off that I haven't put and epic fights scenes in yet. I'm working on it. **

**Originally I was going to upload another chapter tonight, but I decided to make the next one extra long and actually exciting for once! Yeah!**

**In the reviews, tell me your favorite quote(s) from this book. Mine? "Rest is for the weak, buddy!" I loved writing that. **


	20. Curse my OLD ideas for doing a pun!

**Remember how I said I'd do a long chapter? Well... Things happened and now only half of it is done. Since I didn't want to give you guys nothing. I decided to post half now and half tomorrow. I'll make it one big chapter when I go back and edit this story. **

Taylor POV

My eyes fluttered open and I groaned. 'What happened to you, Taylor?' I asked myself. I unsteadily got to my feet. Dark clouds formed above me. It looked like it would rain soon. I realized that I was outside the school. Judging by the sun, which I could barely see, it was around noon. Did I spend the night here?

I noticed that my head hurt. I didn't remember drinking anything, so it couldn't be a hangover. Plus, I never went drinking anyways. Alcohol tasted disgusting. I started walking back towards the apartment. I wobbled a bit, but eventually I made it. I waved slightly to the lady at the desk and boarded the elevator.

When I opened the door, I came face to face with... myself? I gasped at the same time as the clone. "What are you doing in my apartment?" I demanded.

"Your apartment? You mean my apartment!" I glared.

"I don't know who you are, but take off the costume and step aside." I pushed her and walked in.

"Who was it?" Megan called. The clone rushed in.

"Oh my gosh there's a clone of me help!" she squeaked.

I rolled my eyes. "I do not talk like that."

Jason, Adam, and Megan walked over. "Whoa, am I in heaven?" Jason asked. I ignored it when Clone's eyes flashed red.

"No, but you need to get rid of this impostor!" Clone screeched.

"You're the impostor!" I yelled. We started spewing insults back and forth until Megan stepped between us.

"Stop it! Listen, each one of you tell us something only Taylor would know."

"Easy," I grinned. Clone would never know that Jason was my one millionth sub!

'Thanks for the answer,' said a voice. "Jason was my one millionth sub!"

"WHAT?" I yelled. "No fair, she read my mind!"

Adam rolled his eyes. "Excuses, excuses. Jason, take care of this fake. I'll talk to Taylor." Jason roughly grabbed my arm. When no one was looking, Clone stuck her tongue out at me. They all left to go get coffee and talk.

I miserably sat down on a chair. "No fair," I mumbled. Jason sat down next to me.

"Who are you?"

"Taylor, your girlfriend of 2 weeks, 3 days, 4 hours, 22 minutes, and..." I checked the clock. "26 seconds."

He looked me in the eye. "Who are you, really?"

I stared right back at him. "I'm Taylor, student at California University and roommate to Annette, Carmen, and Megan."

He sighed. "I wish I could believe you, but how did other Taylor know that I was her one millionth sub? No one else knew that."

"I did. And I know that we've kissed 9 times, the password to your phone is 5921, and you asked me to the dance by leaving a note on my bed. Also, that you're afraid of the dark because you've played Slender too much."

He looked impressed. "If this is really you, Taylor, than who is that?"

"I don't know, but we need to go fi out!" We ran out of the apartment, desperate to find the fake me.

Carmen POV

A new energy filled my body as I sprinted outside. I loved the feeling of the wind rushing against my face, my legs pumping back and forth. Suddenly, I stopped dead in my tracks. My nail polish was chipped! I couldn't go on.

Oh my goodness, Carmen, get a grip. I needed to get rid of these dumb effects. I wondered if it was like Minecraft. Would milk cure the potion? I saw a gas station and ran into it. I hated milk, but i bought and drank a bottle anyways. Suddenly all thoughts about how I really needed a shower disappeared. I smiled, grabbed a cookie for luck, and continued on my journey.

Where was I going, though? That question still remained unanswered. I wondered if Scarlett had said anything helpful... Didn't she say she'd always be in my mind?

"Scarlett?" I tried calling.

"What?" she answered, sounding annoyed.

"Um, you see, I don't exactly know where to go."

"Ugh, must I do everything? Okay, I'm going to give you your phone. You must figure it out from there." My phone fell into the grass. "Now, stop breaking the fourth wall! ButtSaggington, I need a repair!"

It went quiet. I'd never get that girl. I eagerly picked up my phone and tried to figure out what I could use it for. I couldn't call Annette and Mitch, they had probably gotten the phones taken away from them.

A thought crossed my mind. Was Josh dumb enough to stay at the dorms? I ran over to them as fast as I could. I saw where Mitch and Annette had been. Curiously, I peered into the window. I could see the whole scene play out in my mind, except from their point if view. A shiver went down my back, but I ignored it and climbed in.

There was no evidence that people were here, and no noise either. I searched the room for any clues as to where they went. Out the corner of my eye, I saw a big black purse. I looked over and saw it was Annette's. why did she leave her purse? I quickly opened it to see if there was anything useful.

I found a nail file, lip gloss, bobby pin, scissors, and her phone. I guess Scarlett didn't want me to call her. I groaned. Where could they be?

Annette POV

As the car lurched into a stop, I bumped heads with Mitch. "Sorry!" I whispered. A door slammed and my vision was soon blocked by a bright light. I saw Josh staring down at us.

"Get up, it's time to move into your new home! Depending on how long you survive," I gulped. He undid our feet bonds. "Now, I have a gun. Try anything and you'll be shot. Understand?"

I nodded. Mitch lowered his head in defeat as we walked forwards. I realized I should probably check my surroundings in case I got access to a phone. I studied the area. It was a log cabin sitting near a lake. The rest of the area looked abandoned. Was there no one here who could help? We were so dead.

Josh led us into a dusty room. There was a fireman's pole in the middle. He tied our arms to it. "Don't try anything while I'm gone." He warned before leaving.

"Annette?" Mitch asked quietly.

"Yeah?"

"How're we going to get out of this?"

I sighed. "Maybe Carmen will save us,"

"How? For all we know, she's dead! You saw her fall to the ground. She didn't get up, did she? How will people find her? How will she get help?"

"Calm down," I told him. "I called 911 and told them that she was injured when I asked to go to the bathroom."

He frowned. "Why didn't they come save us?"

"I told them she slipped. I couldn't risk them coming and Josh finding out."

"That doesn't seem logical."

"I am so stressed, I wasn't thinking well, okay? At least I did something to help her! I left my purse there too so she would know he'd taken us without my consent. I never depart without my purse,"

"Wow," he said. "You thought this out pretty well,"

"Thanks, I try," I said sarcastically. "Now, let's stop arguing and figure out how to get out of here. Do you know how long we were in the car for?"

"I think around 20 minutes."

"Okay. Got any ideas?"

"Well..." said Mitch mischievously. I smiled. We could totally do this.

**The other half will be up tomorrow no matter how long it takes! In the reviews, tell me how you think Carmen will find them. I honestly have no clue at this point, so I may steal your ideas! **


	21. Finale: The One Good Chapter In This Fic

**This chapter feels really long to me. It took forever to write, but I think I've done it. I've written a chapter that's actually good. Someone call my mom!**

Check out modeluchosen1's page! He has a one shot backstory for Equinox!

Megan POV

"So, Taylor, who do you think that clone is?" I asked as we sipped coffee. I still wasn't completely sure we had chosen the right person. Plus, the other person had Taylor's dress somehow. I felt like my life was getting weirder and weirder each day.

"I don't know! I mean, I get that people want to be perfect like me, but how?" I shot Adam a glance. Taylor wasn't that self-obsessed. I decided to play along.

"I know. I would love to be you. If I knew how, I would totally pretend to. You're just so perfect." I sighed.

Adam's cell phone rang. "It's Jerome, I gotta take this." He ran outside.

"Let's go see Adam," I suggested. We threw away our cups and walked out too.

"What's the report?" I asked.

"She woke up, but then proceeded to run away screaming about Mitch, Annette, and Josh." Adam informed me.

"I hope Carmen's okay." Taylor said. I took a risk and pinned her to the wall.

"The real Taylor calls her Carmella. Now who are you and why are you dressed as Taylor?"

She growled. "See for yourself." I watched as the figure slowly morphed into Equinox.

"I feel like that wasn't all that surprising." said Adam. "I mean, we already knew you were helping Josh. And your last name is an anagram for demon."

I stared at him in shock. "Why didn't you tell me this?"

He shrugged. "Didn't seem relevant."

I rolled my eyes. "I wonder about you sometimes." I turned back to Equinox. "What are you planning on doing to Mitch?"

She smiled. "Mitch is all taken care of. I came back to get rid of you two, but now you'll have to catch me!" She disappeared from my grasp.

I groaned. "Now what?"

Adam held out his phone. "We call Blaze?"

I smiled. "I love you when you're smart." He called him and Blaze answered.

"Hello?"

"Blaze, we need to know where Josh is."

"Oh, let me just move to a place where I can get better cell service." I looked at Adam, who was just as confused as I was.  
Eventually, the voice came back on. "Sorry, he was right next to me. So listen, Mitch and Annette are now Josh's prisoners. You need to find a house near a lake. That's where we are. I have to go before Josh finds me. I'll try everything I can to stop him. Don't call back though." He hung up.

Adam put is phone away. "That helped."

"Lakes near here... There's only one and it's abandoned."

"Wouldn't that make the perfect hideout?"

I smiled. "Yes! Let's go there!" I kissed him quickly and we ran to the car.

Carmen POV

Nothing else of use was in the house. I went outside feeling very defeated. I looked down at my feet and walked very slowly. I had no hope left. How would I figure this out?

I wasn't paying attention and I tripped, falling face-first into mud. I angrily got up, now having ruined my dress. I guess I had to buy it now. Suddenly, I got an idea. If there was mud, it must have just rained. Wouldn't there be tire tracks then? I ran around the building until I spotted them. They seemed to go on forever. I started walking, ready to follow them to their location.

After about ten miles they ended. I stomped my feet in frustration. What could I do now? I sighed as a car passed me. Another one passed a minute later. For some reason, that one went into reverse towards me. Cautiously, I backed up, ready to put up a fight.

"Carmella?" Called a female voice.  
I looked up.

"Taylor? What are you doing here?" I asked. She was in the passenger seat of the car with two other figures.

"There's some clone of me running around. She's with Adam and Megan, who are just up ahead."

"Why are you chasing them?" I asked as I settled into me seat in the back. The two other figures were Jerome and Jason.

"We don't know who it is, but they might be dangerous. We can't call them and ask because there's no service here." Jerome said. The car lurched forward as we chased after them.

"I really need to get back to walking," I said after five minutes.

"What were you doing anyways?" asked Jason.

I sighed. "Josh got mad at me, knocked me into a coma, Annette and Mitch saw and tried to hurt Josh, and now he's got them trapped somewhere. I was following the tire tracks until they ended."

"What have we missed?" asked Jerome. I summed up the last four months for him.

"And I thought a clone of me was bad." Taylor said.

"What?" I asked. She explained her problem. "Could this be related to Josh?"

"Maybe," said Jason. "Besides, we're going the only way this road goes. You'll probably find your place soon enough."

I watched the car in front of us turn. "What are they doing?"

"Follow them!" said Jerome. We turned too. As soon as the car stopped we all ran over to them.

"Megan! Adam! That clone is a fake!" yelled Jason.

"We know," said Adam. They told us about the coffee shop.

"Equinox is evil?" Asked Jerome. "I didn't really like her, but-"

"Can we stop explaining things and focus!" I yelled. Everyone turned to me. "Now, we need to find this lake. How close are we?"

"It's just around the corner. We need to sneak up and ambush them." Megan said.

"No, I need to ambush them." I corrected. "I'm not letting anyone else get hurt. This is my job and mine only." They all started protesting. "I've made me decision." I angrily stalked off to finish my job.

Jerome POV

"We aren't letting her just leave, are we?" Taylor asked.

"Absolutely not." I replied. "Now, here's the plan..."

Mitch POV

"That would work, if we had a knife to cut our bonds." Said Annette. Every one of my plans had a flaw.

"This is hopeless." I sighed. "We have nothing to work with."

"I take back what I said, we can't do this." She said in defeat. We were silent for a while.

"Need some help?" said a voice. I turned to see Josh's helper, Blaze.

"Are you going to taunt us too?" I asked in a rude tone.

"No! I would never!" He replied. "I'm here to break you out."

"Yeah, right." Annette said. "You're evil, so why would you try to break us out?"

"Look, I'm not evil. I signed up for a potions making class with Josh. He told me he'd teach me, but now I'm stuck in all this. Look, I brought a peace offering." He held out Betty.

My eyes widened. "Annette, I can't resist."

"For crying out loud, it's just an axe!" She told me. "Get over it!"

"Deal." I said. "Now how do we do this?"

Annette rolled her eyes."Someday, Mitch, you're going to get us killed." I smiled as we broke free of our bonds.

"Now, where are we going?" I asked.

"Follow me," Blaze said. We walked down a bunch of different hallways with so many twists and turns it made me sick. How did he navigate these things? Eventually, we came to a stop. "Now," Blaze whispered. "We have to be really quiet."

Figures appeared out of nowhere.  
Both groups jumped. "Megan?" I asked the familiar face. "How'd you get here?"

"We came to save you!" She said a bit louder than I would have liked. We all shushed her. "Sorry. We broke in through the wall and found you. Now, follow us and-"

"What do we have here?" A deep voice said. I froze, then slowly turned around. Josh towered over us. "Trying to escape? Oh, and some new people. Equinox warned me about you. Equinox!" He called. She appeared right in front of him. "Get these people back to the cell."

She nodded and went to the back of our cluster. "Start moving or I'll kill you one by one!" I nearly ran back to the cell.

Carmen POV

I finally reached the lake. I saw one lone cabin and figured it was the hideout. I hesitantly walked over to the window and peered inside. I saw Mitch, Annette, Blaze, and the rest of my friends. What were they doing here? I really needed to get people to listen to me.

I tried to get in the door, but it was locked. I looked over and saw a passcode lock. What would josh make the code? I tried 1111 and 1234. Neither worked. I tried Josh's birthday. I punched in random numbers. Nothing worked.

An idea came to mind. I really hoped it didn't work, but I had to try. I punched in the numbers 3694. The door opened and I sighed. Why did he have to use my birthday as the code? It almost made me feel guilty for breaking in and going to kill him. Almost.

It seemed too easy. Walk in, somehow let the others escape, possibly save myself. I hadn't exactly worked out the last part, but I knew how to let the others escape. But where were they? I saw a long hallway with many twists and turns. How would I know which way to go?

"Let fate decide," said a voice in my mind.

"Thanks, Scarlett, you're always so helpful." I replied.

"Hey, you're not even supposed to be able to hear me. That coma did something to your head."

I ignored the second part, but decided her advice was the best chance I had. I took a left, than a right, and a few more turns until I saw it. I felt bad that they had to see this, but I quickly grabbed a few items and walked in.

Mitch POV

I hated being back in this cell. We had no way to escape now, especially with Josh watching us 24/7. I sighed to myself and closed my eyes, hoping of wake up and be at my house. I heard the doors open, but I ignored it.

"Josh," said a female voice. I bolted upright. What was she doing here?

"What are you doing here?" He growled.

"How could I stay away? You're so sweet and handsome!" She gracefully walked over to him and leaned in close. "Be mine forever, Josh. I'm old enough now." She whispered.

My jaw dropped. What was she doing? Was she still drugged? He would either pound her to a pulp or... I shuddered.

I saw his eyes gleam with excitement. "I've waited five years for this,"

"Wait no longer baby. You'll always be mine." She pulled him in for a kiss. I looked around at the others. They all seemed very surprised, with Jerome and Annette looking more disgusted. Probably because they knew what she meant by I'm old enough.

They were still kissing. I saw Carmen reach for the set of keys in his pocket. Then she pulled some strange item out. I looked closer and saw it was a hammer. What was she doing? I saw her slowly bring it up towards his head. In a flash she smacked him in the head with all her strength. He immediately broke away and looked at her.

"That was supposed to knock you out." she said sheepishly. "Annette!" She threw a bag towards us and sprinted off, Josh right behind her.

"My purse!" Annette exclaimed. She quickly opened it. "She threw the keys in here. She's a genius!"

We unlocked the door and ran out screaming.

Carmen POV

That didn't go so well. Adrenaline flowed through my veins as I ran with all my might. I was hoping I'd lose him in the maze of hallways. I went in all different directions, but he was still behind me. I knew I couldn't keep this up for long, so I ran into a room. I slammed the door and locked it. I could hear him pounding on the door as I searched the room for a weapon. The door was really close to breaking, so I grabbed a plank of wood and braced myself.

Josh barged in and I hit him with the wood. I dropped it while he was stunned and ran out of the room. I kept on turning corners until I found a dead end. I turned around and he was right in front of me. I tried to run but I fell backwards onto the wall. He towered above me and grinned.

"This is how it ends, huh? It's too bad what you said back there wasn't true, because I really do love you," I put my arms in front of my face as he pulled out the knife. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the sun shining on the cliff. It would be a nice last sight. I knew I was ready to die, as long as my friends were safe. "Goodbye, Carmella Paige."

"No!" I heard a voice scream. I looked up and saw Mitch tackle Josh. Glass flew everywhere as they went through the window and over the cliff to certain death.

**An actual cliffhanger! Get it? Cliff? **

**I actually cried while writing the last part. I just killed off the Benja. Now all the reviews will be yelling at me! But fear not! There is one more chapter, and possibly a sequel! Which brings me to this: What should I do next?**

**-A sequel **

**-A collab (with who? Also, I'm a Fanfiction noob so I don't know exactly how it works) **

**-A new series**

**-Write my life**

**-Other**

**-Stop writing because I suck**

**Tell me in the reviews please! Pick as many as you'd like!**


	22. Epilogue WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE OVER?

**I knew I'd get a million reviews yelling at me for killing Mitch. You guys will like this chapter then. Also, thank you for 3,000 views! A perfect way to end the story. **

I tried to take it all in. I was free, wasn't I? But I'd never be free from guilt. We were all shocked.

"No." said Jerome, breaking the silence. "I refuse to believe he's gone."

"He couldn't have lived. That fall would have shattered his bones in an instant." Taylor said.

"It can't be true!" said Adam.

"It is, and it's all my fault!" I wailed. "Why couldn't he just let me die for once?"

"Carmen-" Annette said, but I didn't listen. I ran outside and let the tears pour down my cheeks. Mitch was gone. I'd never hear his voice or see his charming smile again. I failed. Scarlett must hate me for ruining her story. I hated me.

"I don't hate you," said a voice. I looked up and saw Scarlett in person, minus the wings. "The story is just fine."

"Why can't I find a boyfriend who won't try to kill me or my friends?" I cried even harder. "This is why I wanted no one to help me! I didn't want anyone to get hurt!"

She sat down next to me and gave me a hug. "What's wrong, honey? You defeated Josh, saved everyone, and now you're free! How could you be so upset?"

I glared. "Do you even pay attention to your own story? Mitch is dead. I didn't save myself, he saved me, like always. And now he's, he's-" I choked up.

She gave me a funny look, but then her expression changed. "Oh! You think he's dead! No, Carmen, he isn't dead."

"What do you mean he's not dead?" I yelled. "I saw him, with my own eyes, fall off the cliff! He couldn't have survived!"

She took my hand and led me to the edge. "What do you see at the bottom of that cliff?"

I sniffled a bit. "A lake."

"In Minecraft, what happens if you fall into water?"

"This isn't Minecraft, Scarlett! He didn't live!"

She sighed. "I'll ask you again. What happens if you fall into water?"

I tried to answer but someone interrupted me. "You live."

It couldn't be. I turned around, and there he was. "Mitch!" I yelled and ran into his arms. He was soaking wet, but I didn't care. I hugged him tightly, determined to never let go. "How did you-"

"Basically defy science and survive? I really don't know. But I do know one thing: You're free now. Josh is gone."

I looked into his eyes. "He died?"

Mitch shook his head. "He's unconscious. I dragged him to the shore, called 911, and climbed up here. He'll probably lose his memory, though."

"I can't be happy when someone lost all their memories."

"Oh, Carmen." He pulled me closer to him. "You care about everyone. That's why I love you."

"I didn't think so at first, but I love you too, Mitch."

"Really?"

"Really."

We stayed like that for a while. "Aww!" said Scarlett. "I'm so happy for you guys. Now, I need to go. You two enjoy yourselves!"

"Kay," I mumbled, still wrapped in his arms.

"Carmen, can I ask you something?" Mitch said after we separated. I nodded. "Will you go out with me?"

I sighed. "I really want to, but the last boyfriend I had tried to murder me a few times. I'm not sure if I'm ready for this."

"I don't want to pressure you into anything. Whenever you're ready, tell me. I'll wait until you say it's hopeless."

I smiled. "Thank you. You've just proven that you care about me. How about this: We'll try for one month. If it seems to work out, we can officially go out."

He grinned. "For one month, I'll be the luckiest guy in the world."

"When you say things like that you make me feel guilty for choosing Josh over you."

"It's okay, you were under a potion. You couldn't control it." He looked at me so lovingly that I felt guilty.

"Mitch, I wasn't under a potion when he asked me out. I only had slight effects, like I did for the past month. Also, I feel like you should know why I agreed to take the potion."

He frowned. "You agreed to?"

I sat down on a log and sighed. "He threatened to hurt you and Jerome. That's why I didn't want anyone to help me. I couldn't stand to see anyone get hurt on my behalf."

He looked at me with his beautiful eyes. "Carmen, everything you say makes me fall in love with you all over again. You were so brave, so courageous to bear this weight by yourself. You are like my knight in shining armor. My hero."

I smiled weakly. "Does that make you the damsel in distress?"

He chuckled. "I suppose so. And to thank you for saving me I guess I owe you this..." He kissed me on the lips. I was so surprised.

"Mitch!"

He looked worried. "Too soon?"

"No, just perfect," We both sat there smiling like idiots. I didn't care, though. I had been so unsure if my feelings for so long. Now I was so relieved, so happy, that nothing could ruin this moment.

Except a surprised Jerome, of course. "Mitch? You're alive? Guys, he's okay!"

Everyone rushed outside. A few people hugged Mitch. Annette and Megan came over to me. "How did he live?" asked Annette.

"He jumped into the lake," I said. "Apparently, Minecraft Physics are real." We laughed. "By the way, why is Blaze here?"

"He saved us, Carmen. He isn't actually evil. He told me about Equinox and where to find you."  
Megan explained.

"He helped me and Mitch escape." Annette added.

"Wow. He seems like a good guy. I'm going to talk to him," I said.  
I walked over to him. "Thank you."

"Thanks for what? All I did was tell Megan and Adam. You and Mitch did the real fighting. I'm just the help."

"No, you aren't!" I said stubbornly. "Without you, no one would have come to save Mitch and Annette but me! I wouldn't have made it in time, and I can't overpower Josh anyways. You are the reason I'm free. Thank you!"

He smiled. "I suppose. I wish I had stood up to Josh earlier. I'm so sorry."

"Anyways, what're you planning on doing now?"

He sighed. "I think I'm going to move back to my house and start off fresh. This place is just bad memories for me."

I nodded. "I know what you mean. I hope this isn't the last time I'll see you."

"I'm sure it's not." I could have sworn he winked at me before going to his car. I walked back to everyone else.

"So, this is it." I said. "It's nice to be myself again."

"Yeah. Maybe we'll get a break until the next crazy thing." said Jason.

"By the way, what happened to Equinox?" I asked.

"Oh, she must have teleported away. I doubt we'll ever have to see her again." said Taylor. I smiled. My life was finally perfect again.

Three Weeks Later

Mitch and I were watching a movie. It was a horror movie, but I wasn't all that scared. Suddenly the door rang. I jumped up to get it. No one was there when I opened it. I peered down the hallway, but I didn't see anyone. I was just about to go inside when I stepped on a piece of paper. I picked it up, but there didn't appear to be a name on it.

I opened and read it. I began to feel really sick. By the time I got to the last sentence, my legs were wobbly. I collapsed onto the couch. "What's wrong?" asked Mitch. I handed him the note, still in shock. He raised his eyebrows then read it.

Carmella Paige, this isn't over. Did you really think I'd just leave? Watch your back, because soon you'll be sent to Hell and wishing Josh had killed you. I'm coming for you. Enjoy your last few days.

"Does this mean-"

"Yes." I interrupted shakily."She's back. Equinox is back."

**And this concludes New Feelings. I'm so sad it had to end! Anyways some important announcements. **

**1. There will be a sequel. I don't know the name yet, so leave suggestions in the reviews. **

**2. I will be writing a collab with... modeluchosen1! He has given me so many suggestion, and is also the owner of Equinox! That said, the sequel release may be delayed due to us still working out how it's all going to go.**

**3. Like I said before, check out modeluchosen1's channel and read A Demon's Heart! It is the basis for the sequel, so you might be confused if you don't. Leave a review and we may use your ideas in the story! **

**Thank you so much for all the support! I am so happy with this book, you guys don't even know it. Goodbye for now, readers!**


	23. YAY A SEQUEL!

**The sequel is up! Yay! **

**And as if I haven't said it enough times, CHECK OUT MODELUCHOSEN1'S STORY! Please?**

**I'm so excited! Hope I'll see you all there!**


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